


Enigma: Part 1

by Ailyn_Writes_Poorly



Category: Star Wars, starwars
Genre: My first fic don’t judge, idk what I’m doing??, some of my oc’s in the Star Wars universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25960606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailyn_Writes_Poorly/pseuds/Ailyn_Writes_Poorly
Summary: Hi! I’m still trying to figure out how to use ao3 so apologies if this is messy for a bit





	1. New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I’m still trying to figure out how to use ao3 so apologies if this is messy for a bit

The soft glow of the morning sunrise coming in from an open window awoke Alda Pax. She opened her eyes and sat up, stretching her arms to the sides and looking out the window to witness the lively pink, orange, and yellow blur before her eyes. Birds flew freely over the horizon and chirped gleefully. This planet has begun to feel like home to her. 

"Too bad we're leaving today," she quietly said to herself with a bit of a sigh. 

That being said, she got dressed into her usual outfit. A black long sleeved tee-shirt tucked into navy cargo pants. She secured it with a belt and laced up her brown ankle-high boots. She took a look in the mirror and fixed her shoulder length hair, which was t angled around her 4 Dathnomirian horns, and secured it into a messy bun behind her head. On her way to the door she reluctantly grabbed her light saber and put it on her belt, then continued on her way. 

As always, she was the first one on the ship to wake up. Out of the three of them, she was definitely the most responsible. Before making herself something to eat, she started a pot of caf in the small kitchen area and then turned on the crew's official Holo to check for any transmissions they might've missed overnight. When she walked back over with a bowl of dry cereal, she tapped the glowing blue screen to read it. 

Dear Exploration Corp. Crew 7,  
Your presence is requested at the Temple on Corascant in two days standard time. 

We will need your full report on the wildlife of planet Gala upon arrival. 

You will also be receiving your pathfinder. Details about them will be sent shortly. 

Sincerely,  
The Jedi High Council 

The High Council?! She thought to herself in disbelief as she finished the transmission. They'd gone the last year without a Pathfinder, but were in desperate need of one if they were ever going to do any exciting missions that weren't about collecting simple data and counting. 

"That Pathfinder must be some prodigy if they're being sent by the Council," she said aloud as she continued popping cereal into her mouth while refreshing their inbox for the details The Council had mentioned. 

"Who's a prodigy?" A disheveled human asked as he entered the kitchen area, still in his pajamas. He had darker skin and his jaw-length curly hair was left a frizzy mess around his head. 

"Good morning to you too, Evander," Alda said flatly with an endearing smile. 

Evander rolled his eyes and poured himself a cup of caf, spilling some on the counter. He didn't bother to clean it up but instead grabbed the box of cereal and took a seat across from Alda at the table. 

"Why are you refreshing our inbox like a mad-woman?" He asked between ravenous bites. 

Alda opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by another transmission. 

"Finally!" She exclaimed as she tapped the white box that appeared on the screen. 

It was the profile of a girl. 

Jolie Peregrine  
18 Years old  
Pathfinder of Explore Corp. Crew 7 

"Let me get this straight," Evander started as he peered over Alda's shoulder,"our Pathfinder, the one in charge of making sure we don't fly into a black hole or get lost and die on some foreign planet, is 18?" He stared at Alda, expecting her to reassure him it was a mistake. 

"Apparently," Alda replied frankly as she closed the Holo and continued to eat from her bowl. 

Evander grabbed another handful of cereal and just rolled his eyes with annoyance, dropping some on the floor. 

Alda let her fist bang the table and stared at him with just as much annoyance. "Can you at least use a bowl instead of making a huge mess?" 

He shrugged,"My ship, my rules." 

Alda looked at him angrily, holding in some snarky comeback, but just got up to put her empty bowl in the dishwasher. "You are ridiculous, Evander Aine." 

"I️ know," he said flatly as he continued to eat like a cantina-caliber slob. He changed the Holo screen on the table to be a tv show. 

The last one up was a humanoid boy. He was younger than the rest, but only by a year. He was 19, making Evander and Alda 20. His skin was pale, almost a ghostly white, and he had pointed ears. His hair was light brown, shaggy, and in need of a hair cut. Not as bad as Evander at least. His shagginess was more endearing, where as Evander's was just bothersome. When he quietly left his room he was fully dressed. He wore a short sleeved, baby blue shirt that was tucked into dark brown pants. His grey ankle boots were laced comfortably and he put on a darker blue, zip up jacket. 

When he reached the kitchen area he saw Alda sweeping up some cereal crumbs from the floor. 

"Evander's already awake, I'm assuming?" He asked with a chuckle as he got a towel and cleaned the spilled caf on the counter. 

Alda chuckled and smiled at her friend gratefully,"Good to see you, Flint." 

Flint smiled as well and finished cleaning up after the messy human. He could sense excitement in the air. 

"Anything in the inbox?" He asked Alda as he sat beside her with a glass of water and some toast. 

Alda smiled,"Actually, yes," she began pulling up the letter from The Council,"We got a Pathfinder!" 

"No way!" Flint said with a huge smile as he read the letter,"Do we know anything about them?" 

Alda began pulling up the minimalistic profile they'd been sent,"Well, she's 18 and her name is Jolie Peregrine. Judging by her age, she's probably some sort of natural talent. Most Pathfinders are at least 23." 

Flint got quiet and smiled softly. He loved her name. "I️ can't wait to meet her." 

Evander finally hunkered down and got dressed. He left his white tee-shirt untucked and loosely belted his dark grey cargo pants. Although, he did hide it with his dark brown zip up. Lastly he tied his green, worn out boots and looked in the mirror. His boots had been though a lot of wear and tear, but not as much as he had been though. He ran his hands through his thick, frizzy, dark brown hair and condensed it into a low pony tail. Lots of short stray hairs stuck out in all directions, but he decided it was as good as anything. With his appearance being as put together as it ever is, he made his way for the cock pit. They had a long trip home.

Jolie Peregrine was walking with her Master towards the Explore Corp.'s main hangar bay. She was leaving today to join a crew. 

After she'd failed her trials twice, she knew the Force was pointing her in this direction. She'd always had a thirst for adventure. Though, she would miss her master and her friends dearly. 

The pair reached the open doorway just in time to see a vessel that resembled a Cargo Ship land smoothly a short distance away. 

She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I️ am so proud of you," the old man smiled warmly,"Don't ever forget that." 

Jolie smiled and blinked back a few tears. "Thank you for everything. Someday I'll show you around some mystical Outer-Rim world I discover." She smiled confidently, her eyes lighting up at the thought of her future as a Pathfinder. 

With that, she confidently strode towards the ship. Once she reached the base of the ship, she tucked a strand of her long, smooth, blonde hair behind her ear with her free hand, and went into the ship.

She cautiously walked into the small kitchen-living room combo, but didn't see anyone. 

"Uh, hello?" She called, hoping she had the right ship. 

Then the cockpit doors flew open and Evander was sitting at the pilot's seat. He punched a few buttons to turn down the music that was playing and then turned his chair. 

"You're Jolie, I'm guessing?" He asked. It wasn't exactly a warm welcome, but he wasn't outwardly mean either. Though still, Jolie could sense some negativity from him. 

"Yes. Jolie Peregrine. This is Crew 7?" She asked awkwardly. 

"Yep," he said flatly as he got up and went to the kitchen. 

Jolie kept holding onto her bag and took a few steps back into the kitchen, but kept her distance. This guy clearly isn't too pleased, she thought to herself. 

"Where's everyone else?" She asked.

"Giving the Council some data from our last mission," he replied. He had refilled his glass of water. 

Jolie saw an opportunity to get some information on what kind of stuff they'd be doing. "What was the mission about?" 

He shrugged and rolled his eyes,"Boring." 

Well that was informative, she thought to herself. Feeling hopeless, she sat down at the table and fiddled with a hair-tie on her wrist. Suddenly, a Dathnomirian girl with magenta skin walked in, followed by a humanoid boy with pointed ears and pale skin. Jolie looked up and smiled. 

"Ah, you must be Jolie! Sorry we took so long to get back. It's usually just a quick drop off, but you know how things go sometimes," she chuckled a little bit and smiled as she extended her hand to Jolie,"I'm Alda, survival extraordinaire." 

Feeling hopeful again, Jolie stood and shook Alda's hand happily and smiled,"It's so nice to meet you!" 

While they made small talk, Evander quietly elbowed Flint and whispered,"She seems way too frilly to be doing this." 

"Give her a shot, you never know," Flint whispered back. 

She did seem a little more innocent then Flint had pictured, but looks didn't mean anything about someone's substance. Though while he was thinking about it, she was quite beautiful. 

"...and that's Flint back there, a walking Holocron," Alda said, bringing Flint out of his trance. 

"Erm, yeah, I'm Flint," he said as he stepped forward and held his hand out. 

Jolie smiled and shook it,"Great to meet you all, but I️ never got your name," she said as she looked to Evander. 

Alda gave Evander a questioning look and he sighed,"I'm Evander, the pilot." 

Jolie smiled, less this time, and just nodded. She could sense lots of resentment from him. It stood out among the pure kindness of Flint and Alda. 

"Let me show you your room,"Alda said as she gestured for Jolie to follow. 

The room was small obviously, but surprisingly homey. There was a dresser, mirror, bed, and small storage table next to the bed. There was also a window that would bring some light into the condensed space. 

"I'll let you get settled in," Alda said as she left Jolie alone. 

Jolie took a deep breathe, taking in everything that had just happened. Overall, she was feeling great about the transition. Sure, she could sense that Evander was having a tough time, but maybe he was having a bad day. 

Aside from that, Alda was incredibly welcoming. She seemed to be their leader, which makes sense since she's the survival expert. Jolie got very optimistic vibes from her. 

Flint seemed great too. Awkward? Sure. But just as nice. 

This would take some getting used to, but she was exciting about the journey.


	2. First Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First missions are always the toughest. Evander is still a prick, Flint and Jolie are soft babies, and Alda is mom friend.

After the ship took off into the grey, muggy skies of Corasaunt, the crew all met in the cockpit. 

"So, care to brief us on this mission, Alda?" Evander asked over his shoulder as he smoothly guided the ship further and further from the planet. 

Alda read from her data pad as she replied, "We're going to an Outer Rim planet called Rylan. It has a Republic Outpost where we're keeping the ship,"she shrugged and gave the group a knowing look, "Pirates. What are you gonna do?" She asked with a rhetorical tone. Flint and Evander chuckled, but she continued, "We need to track down this special plant called a Benezion Lily. Apparently it's a crucial ingredient in the antidote to some disease that's spreading on Naboo. They need to figure out how to Clone it and pump out more medicine." 

"What do we know about the planet?" Flint asked as he took mental notes of everything going on. 

"Not too much. We have the coordinates to get there and we know how to get to the outpost, but beyond that it's just a vast forest." 

Evander cut in, "And we're supposed to go find one incredibly rare plant?" He had an eyebrow raised in a very annoyed, almost agitated look. 

Alda smiled a little and looked over to Jolie, who was listening intently, trying to get a sense of how these missions went. "That's where Jolie comes in. As our Pathfinder, she will guide us to the plant." 

Jolie looked a little bit stunned, but kept a strong posture as she smiled and nodded. 

She's really quiet, Flint thought to himself. Though, to be fair, everyone was thinking it. 

Evander gave Jolie a sideways glance, then hid his annoyance by turning back to the controls and calculate the jump to hyperspace. 

"We should be there by morning. Get lots of rest team, we're gonna need it," Alda said before getting up to go to her room. 

Flint went to his room as well, but did not sleep. Instead, after changing into pajamas, he searched his Holocron for some deeply embedded information on Rylan. 

Jolie sat on her bed, her knees tucked up beneath her chin as she just watched the blurred white and blue lights of Hyperspace through her window. So far from home, she thought sadly. She already missed her Master. Her quarters. Her morning meditation sessions. The idea of her being a Jedi Knight. She did look forward to the future, no doubt about it. But for right now, she was homesick. 

Alda couldn't shake the feeling that something extra was wrong with Evander. It wasn't the usual stuff that's plagued his mind, but a new presence. She was worried it was Jolie for some reason. She also couldn't sleep, and it was getting very late. 

When she finally decided sleep wasn't an option until she did some investigating, she tip-toed to the cockpit. Evander was definitely passed out on the controls by now, even if the ship was in autopilot. 

"Eve?" She quietly called, using his nickname. 

He jolted awake and spun around, but relaxed seeing it was the friendly Dathnomirian. "Hey, shouldn't you be asleep?" There was the slightest amount of concern in his voice. 

"Can't sleep when you're very clearly not alright. Now, spill it," Alda said with a humerus tint to her voice as she sat down in the co-pilot's chair, her elbows supporting her on her knees. 

Evander rolled his eyes,"I just don't understand why she's 18. 18! How can she possibly be any good. It's not like we even need her. We can manage." His face twisted into a frown, his voice grew angrier. "We can all use the Force and I️ can fly a ship. We're all set." 

"You and I both know that's a lie. Last time we tried to do the work of a Pathfinder-" 

"-She isn't even a Pathfinder!" 

"Do you not remember that we ended up floating in space almost dead from Hypothermia?!"Alda sighed with frustration, regaining her composure, "I know you hate changes and you've got a lot to get through, but if we ever want to go on missions where we do more then take data on rocks, animals, and water levels, we need her." 

He glared ahead of him into space, "She can prove it tomorrow." 

Alda got up and patted him on the shoulder as she left, "Just give her a chance," she smiled, "I️, for one, have faith in her." 

Evander didn't make his usual snarky comeback, but instead looked into space and sat at the pilot's chair, slowly dozing off with the gentle rocking of the ship. 

"Up and at 'em team!" Alda was making the rounds, knocking on Flint and Jolie's doors. They both quickly got up, dressed, and then went into the kitchen to eat. 

Jolie made herself some toast with berry jam, Flint for himself some cereal with blue milk, and Evander was eating in the cockpit. Alda had also disappeared to go prepare supplies. 

"Sleep well?" Flint quietly asked after an uncomfortable silence. 

Jolie nodded,"Nothing like home though." 

"We've all been there," he smiled, "This'll be home soon." 

Jolie smiled a bit and went back to eating. Maybe I've finally met someone quieter than me, Flint thought to himself as he finished as well. 

Everyone got strapped into their seats in the cockpit as the ship descended to the green planet of Ryla. The planet was small, almost as small as a moon. There were luscious trees in shades of green, colorful flowers, and beautifully flowing rivers that became visible as they neared the surface. 

Jolie stared out the window in astonishment. "I've never seen anything like this before," she said quietly, almost to herself. 

"One of the perks of this job," Alda replied. For the first time, Jolie saw a glimpse of what she was in for. But it was only a glimpse. 

Evander effortlessly landed the ship inside the Hangar and everyone started to gear up. 

"I'll be back," Evander said as he exited the ship with his large backpack on. 

Alda gave Jolie a good sized backpack. Jolie gave her a questioning look as she strapped it on. "There's basic survival equipment in there. I've got the heavy duty stuff," Alda explained as she looked down the hall to a much larger pack with what looked like a tent folded up on top. 

Jolie gaped at the size of the pack and gratefully nodded,"Got it." 

"Ready gang?" Evander asked from the ramp, standing just outside the doorway. 

Alda smiled, Flint followed while looking around as he took notes, and Jolie just took a deep breathe. 

The four checked in with the security of the hangar, then got on their way. 

"Where to first, pathfinder?" Evander asked with a slightly rude tone. 

Jolie closed her eyes as everyone turned to face her. She breathed in the earthy smells of the soil and the tropical aromas of the flowers. She pictured this elusive plant they were searching for in her mind, making a detailed description of it. She reached out to the Force and felt the layout of the planet, the beings who inhabited it, and asked where they'd find it. The Force whispered to her. 

Jolie pointed towards a stream to her right, off into the distance. "Let's start there." 

As they trekked on, with Jolie now leading, none of the members could help but lose focus due to the sheer beauty of this planet. Luscious, green grass lined the ground with trees of all shapes and sizes surrounding them. There were many small streams throughout the forest planet, accented with vibrant flowers of all kinds. But this didn't even include the wildlife. 

Purple-brown deer like creatures pranced happily, stopping to drink ever now and then, but then peacefully continuing in their way. A flock of birds flew overhead occasionally, bringing song along the way. 

Everything seemed perfect here.

By the time it started getting darker, Jolie had been leading the other three Jedi through the desolate, uncharted planet for hours upon hours. They'd stopped for short breaks, but nothing substantial enough. 

"Okay, we need to stop otherwise we won't be able to go far tomorrow," Ada said as she leaned on her knees and stopped. 

"Probably wise," Jolie said, setting her back pack down. 

Alda let hers fall with a thud, finally being freed of the weight. She stretched her arms up and cracked her neck. "I'll set the tent up and get the fire going," Alda said as she got to work. The sun was now almost completely set above the tree line, leaving behind orange, purple, and yellow hues. 

Flint sat down in the grass, leaning back on his hands. Evander sat next to him and Jolie walked around a little more, trying to feel this plant, but remaining unsuccessful. 

Evander lightly elbowed Flint and whispered,"So what's your take on her?" Jolie was now pretty far off in the distance. 

Flint didn't hesitate before he answered, but his voice wavered,"She's doing just fine. She does have, arguably, the toughest job here." 

Evander shrugged,"I'll be impressed when she can finally find this plant. Any of us can use the Force." 

Flint gave him a slight glare, but didn't say anything. Even though he wanted to. Although, he did know that Evander was a lot more troubled than he lets on. It's still not an excuse. 

Alda had set up four tents that consisted of a skeleton made of aluminum in the shape of a dome. A ray shield filled in the gaps to trap heat and protect them from the elements. There was just enough room to lay down and sleep. 

"Can someone get a fire going? I️ don't feel like eating another ration bar," Alda said as she started unpacking some food and utensils. 

Flint and Evander exchanged a look before Flint just got up to do it himself. After getting the circular disk from Alda's pack, he set it in the ground and turned it in. It still needed to warm up before they could cook. 

"Have either of you send Jolie? It's practically pitch-black," Alda said over her shoulder as she continued to ruffle through her stuff. 

"She didn't really say-" Flint started. 

"-Of course she didn't tell anyone," Evander interrupted with a dramatic eye roll. 

"Okay, Evander? You really need to chill. Flint, why don't you go look for her," Alda suggested. 

"Will do," Flint said as he stood up to go find her. Thank Force, he thought, Too bad I️ don't have a room to hide in. 

Jolie had her eyes closed. She felt the wind kicking up, blowing her long, blonde hair around like a hurricane. She knew they were close, but she could sense the plant even more now as it got darker. Oddly enough, she also felt it more as a storm seemed to start. She knew it would be the smart thing to go back, but she wasn't about to pass up the sudden surge of clarity she was having. Plus, she also didn't want to go back to Evander. 

"Jolie?" 

She finally opened her eyes to see Flint, pointy ears and shaggy hair. 

"Yeah?" She replied. 

"Uh, we're gonna start dinner soon," he couldn't help but marvel at the wind in her hair,"And the weather is getting pretty bad." 

Jolie sighed and took one last look around, making a mental note of where she was and what she was sensing. "Probably wise," she said to Flint as she joined him. 

On the walk back, Jolie was quiet for most of the time. Flint could feel through the Force that she was feeling worried and anxious. 

"Also, sorry about Evander. He's always like that," Flint said with a reassuring smile. 

"And I thought he couldn't get any worse," Jolie said with a touch of sarcasm. 

Flint chuckled and they continued in their way. That's the most I've heard her talk, he thought.


	3. Drowning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolie’s acting strange, Alda is trying to keep the peace, and Flint is trying to not lose his mind. Happy times. Also there’s a flood but it’s okay lol

Alda was the first up, waking with the sunrise. She yawned and stretched, then changed out of her pajamas. Once she was ready she grumbled out of her ray shield-tent and out to the fire maker. She flipped the switch on the metal disk placed on the dirt ground to warm it up. Her pack was full of food they could cook so she got out some breakfast cakes to heat up, complete with thin, paper plates. 

She sat on the ground, wet with morning dew, and gazed around the beautiful forest. She saw tracks from deer and various animals overnight. What she also saw was footsteps. Upon a closer look, she discovered they were fresh tracks. 

A puzzled look crossed her face and worry set in. She went to Flint's tent and tried to knock, but it didn't make much of a sound. "Flint?" She asked, relatively quietly. 

She heard a slight ground and then he stuck his head out. "Did I️ miss the alarm?" His shaggy hair seemed even more disheveled this early. 

"No, but did you see anyone leave this morning?" 

His eyes narrowed in confusion and worry,"We're missing someone?" 

"I'll take that as a no," Alda said as she went to go check the other tents. Jolie and Evander seemed to be the only ones who'd even consider running off. 

Evander was clearly sound asleep. She could tell by how loud his snores were. 

But Jolie was nowhere to be found. Gone. 

Panic set in and Alda jogged over to Evander's tent. "Evander? Evander! Wake up!" She heard movement from inside the tent. 

"What in the world is happening this early, Alda?" Evander said with an extremely annoyed tone. 

"Jolie's missing!" Alda was now packing everything up, including Jolie's tent. 

Flint and Evander trickled our of their tents, dirty and unkept, but ready to go search. 

"Did you try her com?" Flint asked. 

"She left it in her tent," Alda said as she held it up and strapped her large pack on. Flint and Evander did the same. 

"Where would she be then?" Evander asked, still clearly mad as he munched on a ration bar. 

Flint quietly spoke up,"Yesterday she kept following the river." 

"Looks like we're following a river, gentleman."

"I'm gonna go ahead and say what we're all thinking," Evander started, Flint and Alda sensing some sort of pessimistic idea. Not with the Force, just knowing Evander. "Theres no way she could have survived a night out here alone. She's tiny and inexperienced." 

Flint said nothing, but an anger started to boil inside him. 

"She's just as likely to die out here as you are. Not to mention she's 18, not a child," Alda replied with a large deal of annoyance and frustration in her voice. 

Evander was about to shoot something back but was silenced by an uncharacteristically sharp glare from Flint. 

Flint didn't know why, but he couldn't stand to hear Jolie being bashed by Evander every two seconds. Even though he knew Evander has more than enough struggles, that he doesn't even know the full story on, it wasn't a valid excuse. There was something about Jolie that ignited some defense in him that he's never seen. In some sense, he may have felt Jolie was helpless and needed his help. Little did he know, it was very much the opposite. 

After following the river for an hour or so, the trio finally found their blonde haired pathfinder. 

"Jolie!" Alda called with her hands cupped around he mouth. 

Jolie was off in the distance, heard them, but didn't turn around. 

"Why isn't she turning around?" Evander asked. 

Flint spotted what the others didn't. He pointed above her head, his eyes gaping in disbelief,"I'm guessing that's why." 

There was a huge wave of water high above her head, almost at the tree tops, being held still with very precise use of the Force. Jolie was at the top of a steep hill, keeping the water from going down. It would overflow the river that flowed down the hill and continued on, destroying a very import antidote they were searching for. At the bottom of the hill was a small patch of flowers. Benezion Lillies. 

"The flowers!" Jolie called over her shoulder. 

Flint and Evander stood there in shock and awe at the feat that the shy, seemingly helpless girl was completing. 

"You heard her, get the flowers!" Alda called over her shoulder as she was sprinting for the flowers. 

Flint and Evander exchanged a flabbergasted look and then followed Alda's lead. The three of them were grabbing arm-fulls of flowers, trying to remove them from the soil carefully but quickly. Once they had gotten the 50 or so flowers from the area, they cleared out to the side and ran for cover. 

"We got them all!" Alda called to Jolie from where they were standing. 

"Hold it there while you run over!" Evander yelled to her as they slowly made their way over, being ready to run if need be. The amount of water cumulating was more of a flood than a mere puddle. 

"I- can't- hold it," Jolie said with a grimace, sweat dripping from her forehead. Her arms were sinking, as if the weight had finally begun to overpower her. He knees started to bend and her posture slouched. 

"Everyone up a tree!" Alda yelled. Now all four of them were on the receiving end of the water, so they were in trouble. Alda made it to the top first, then Evander. The two pulled Flint up. 

"What about Jolie?!" Flint asked as the water began to fall through her grasp. He stared at Alda in confusion and almost disgust. 

"We have several options here. Either one, two, three, or all four of us get caught in that. Better one than all," Flint didn't look convinced,"Are you seeing this? She can clearly handle it!" Alda exclaimed. 

"Jolie, just let go! You'll need strength to swim!" Evander yelled. 

Jolie gave the water one last push, then her knees gave out for good and she was swept away by a sudden surge of cold water crashing down over her head before she could get away. It carried her down the hill with great speed and then crashed over the riverbank. It seemed as though nature had run its course all at once, given this was supposed to happen gradually during last night's storm. Jolie's head bobbed above the surface and she kept herself afloat, letting the water take her. She looked around frantically, drops of water speckling her vision, and grabbed onto the edge of the shore just in time to not be swept down another hill. 

The three, seeing they wouldn't be drowned as they previously thought, scrambled down the tree and slid down the hill, rushing to Jolie. 

Exhaustion had finally caught up to her and her grip loosened, her arms started failing. She tried as hard as she could, but after hours of upholding the body of water, there was no way she would be able to even do this simple thing. 

"Hang on!" Alda yelled as they sprinted over. Jolie's eyes had gone wide, and she was now preparing to take a trip down the next surging river. 

As they were running, Alda got an idea. She took her jacket off and tied one end of the sleeve into a loop. She spotted a tree branch sticking out of the river a little ways past Jolie. It was clear she was about to let go any second now. 

"Guys, give me a boost into the river!" Alda said. 

"What?!" Evander replied, clearly pretty surprised. 

"You heard me!" 

Flint and Evander stopped and Alda kept running. They used the Force to send her into the river. As she flew towards the water, she lassoed her jacket around the branch and held on tight. Jolie came next, floating down the river and being caught by Alda. Flint and Evander then grabbed onto the jacket once they reached the riverbank and pulled them in. 

Jolie sat up, coughing up water and breathing heavily. 

"Are you okay?" Alda asked concerned as she knelt in front of her. 

Jolie shivered,"Yeah." 

Flint dug into his pack and got out his jacket he's packed for colder weather and draped it around her shoulders. 

She smiled weakly,"Thanks," then she looked around and didn't see any flowers,"Where are the flowers?" She looked worried. 

"They're piled up by that rock,"Evander said, pointing to a rock near the tree they were in. 

"We need to get them to Naboo," Jolie said with urgency in her voice.

"She's right. Evander and I will go back and get the ship. Flint, make sure she's okay until we get back,"Alda instructed. 

Flint nodded and Alda left with Evander by her side. 

"How long do you think they'll be?" Jolie asked. 

Flint quickly answered, only taking a short amount of time to calculate it in his head,"About 6 hours." 

Jolie nodded,"Any chance you have some food? I clearly missed breakfast."

Flint chuckled and sat down beside her, digging some rations bars from his pack. "Here you go," he handed her one and she tore it open, digging in. "So if you're feeling okay now, I have so many questions," Flint said.

"I probably have answers," Jolie replied. 

"How did you know? That the flowers were down there? Is that why you took off in the middle of the night?" 

"The Force simply told me. I got this feeling that the flowers were in danger. Then a vision. Piecing it together, I knew what to do. And yes, that's why I took off." 

"That's... that's amazing. But why didn't you bring us with you?" 

She sighed,"I was worried I was wrong. It's clear you all seem to think I need to prove myself, and it would be bad for all of us if I was wrong and wasted our time."

"You don't need to do that. We'd all go with you, even if we found nothing. Evander too." 

"You really don't need to assure me about Evander. I can sense there's something more than I know." 

"...You can?" 

"Yes. It's a complicated thing."

Flint smiled, ignoring the strands of pale brown hair in his face,"I still can't believe you're 18. You're more skilled than most Jedi Masters."

Jolie smiled to him,"Believe it."

The sudden sass made Flint chuckle a little and took him by surprise. "You must be exhausted-" he looked over and saw Jolie passed out, wrapped in a coat with her head leaning against the tree. 

"You wanna talk?" Alda asked as she and Evander made the long trek back to the ship. 

Evander looked up at the clouds and blinding sun, then back down to his feet and crossed his arms. "You can say it." His voice bled bitterness and some guilt. 

"Evander-" 

Suddenly it seemed as though a bomb had gone off and he couldn't hold it in, so he exploded,"You told me so! I'm always wrong and I can never seem to let go of things. I finally felt like I had one real job, just one! Then an 18 year old takes my place and what am I supposed to do! I'm just a taxi driver who follows orders! I-"

Alda stopped in front of Evander and turned to face him, grabbing his arms to stop him. "Evander, you do more for this crew than you know. You're not just a pilot. You're brave, sharp, and passionate about things you love. Everyone in this crew has a technical job, but it's just a formality," he began to soften the tension in his muscles,"I know you haven't had an easy life by any stretch and that this transition isn't easy either. It's okay."

He closed his eyes and tried to hide the small droplets along his eyes, but it was a lost cause. Alda knew his anxiety was kicking in and she just hugged him. He thankfully returned the embrace until he could calm down his mind. 

Alda could sense guilt, and lots of it. But also relief. 

The pair walked side by side through the forest, along the river, and over the hills for the next few hours until they reached the ship. 

Next stop: Naboo.


	4. Foreshadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolie’s power may not be what it seems. Yoda shows up. The chapter title is a hint oops

As the four young Jedi hustled off the ship, pushing several hover-crates full of Benezion Lilies, the overwhelming feeling of sickness on Naboo loomed in the Force around them. There was a hangar bay turned medical center within the actual Medical Station on the planet. 

Alda kept laser focused as they maneuvered the creates through the bustling area, trying not to look at the ill citizens. Evander was right behind her, following her lead and ignoring the darkness, but not doing a great job. As always, he hid it well. Flint was sending messages over his Comm to the Chief Researcher of the station, thinking methodically and calculating every step and turn the crates took. Jolie had never seen this kind of sickness before. She couldn't believe it, but unlike the others, could feel it down to her core. She could feel a glimpse of the sheer pain each patient was going through and the darkness consuming them. But she kept silent and pushed on. 

"No no no, hold the door!" Alda shouted with one hand outstretched as the elevator doors almost closed, a few doctors going up. They both exchanged a funny glance and held the doors open. The four Jedi came screaming in like Pod Racers at a pit stop, breathing heavily and awkwardly smiling. 

"Hi there," Evander said with a cheeky smirk. The doctors shrugged and punched in their floor. 

After the flowers and all of their data had been handed over to the Medical staff on Naboo, it was time for them to head back to Coruscant so they could give the Jedi Council their copy of the data. As Flint often says,"All data is useful data." 

"Next stop; the Temple," Evander said rather casually as he strode to the cockpit and fired up the ship. 

Alda poured a few glasses of water and gave them out. She then went to the cockpit to give Evander his glass. 

"I'm gonna rest," Jolie said to Flint, almost sounding in pain, as she plodded to her room. 

She laid down in bed on her back and closed her eyes, bringing her fingertips to her temples. It was a trick her master had showed her when she felt like the Force was getting too overwhelming. With all the effects of the diseased citizens of Naboo rubbing off on her, she was definitely feeling overwhelmed. 

The nagging pains lessened and she could breath easy again. She sat up and turned to the side of her bed, staring out her window of the ship. Evander had jumped to Hyperspace. The blurred lines in brilliant shades of blue always made her feel clarity. She began to dissect the events of the past few days. 

She thought about Alda and how welcoming she's been. How trusting. 

How intelligent and kind Flint was. 

About the mystery that was Evander's past. 

But there as one thing she just couldn't shake.   
I miss him, she thought to herself. She missed her Master. Heck, he was practically her dad. 

She was assigned to him at the age of 10 in an effort to help harness her incredibly advanced Force sensitivity. She couldn't function in a normal youngling class. Depending on who you asked, she was a prodigy, or dangerous. 

But nothing could have prepared her for what they'd both seen, and sensed, on Naboo. Regardless of it's good or bad, she actually felt more connected the Galaxy this way. Every gift comes with negatives too. 

Jolie ended up falling asleep after a while and slept through the rest of the night on the ship. By the time she woke up, Alda was making the rounds. They had to make sure they had all the data and clerical work ready for the Jedi Council. 

"I️ wrote up a quick summary of our planet and the things we saw. I️ made notes of it all, obviously," Flint brought up the report he'd made as they all sat around the holo-table,"Not nearly as boring as the data missions we're used to. Jolie, did you want me to add in the part with the water?" He turned to her, his finger tips ready to type. 

Jolie was taken aback a bit and shrugged awkwardly,"Um, if you want." 

Flint kept his eyes on the glowing screen and began to type rapidly,"I'll just make a quick note." 

Alda sat up straight in her chair. "Evander, do we have an ETA?" 

Evander uncrossed his arms,"Yeah, bout an hour before we enter the atmosphere." 

"Alright, well that does it guys," she began to stand and push in her chair but then a light bulb went off in her head,"Oh, Jolie?," She walked towards Jolie and quieted her voice,"We might wanna get you some new clothes. You've still got your robes and such." 

Jolie glanced at her brown Jedi robe and tan tunic. The same clothes she's worn for years. "Oh, is it not good for survival and all that?" She asked innocently, clearly not seeing what was being implied. 

Alda looked to her left and then returned her gaze uncomfortably,"Yeah, yeah, but I mean, we aren't really official Jedi anymore so..." Her voice trailed off. 

Jolie shifted her weight from side to side and then ran her hands through a strand of her long, blonde hair,"Sure, sure. I'm uh, gonna head to my room." She turned in her heel and walked off. 

Alda sighed and went to the cock pit, glancing at a very focused Flint with amusement on her way. 

She sat down beside Evander, who was monitoring the Nava-Computer. She sighed,"How am I️ supposed to tell Jolie we aren't Jedi?" 

Evander looked over puzzled,"Uh, you don't," He swiveled his chair towards Alda and crossed his arms,"We are Jedi." 

She cocked her head to the side slightly and raised an eyebrow,"Come on Eve, you know we aren't really Jedi," she looked down,"Not the normal kind, at least." 

Evander shrugged and looked back to the ship's blinking controls,"That's what you decided. You can't force Jolie to decide that." 

Alda leaned back and watched the dark space,"I hate it when you're right." 

Evander smirked and laughed,"Doesn't happen very often, eh?" 

She chuckled and punched his arm, earning herself a punch right back.

Evander got up and patted her shoulder,"Watch the skies, will yah?" 

She rolled her eyes and moved over to his seat and flew the ship for a bit. Why don't I️ feel like a Jedi? She thought to herself. We are a part of the order. So... are we Jedi? Am I️ just wrong? 

Evander strode through the main area to the kitchen to get some food, his frizzy, dark brown hair going everywhere. For once, it wasn't in a low pony tail. 

"Havin' fun over there?" He rhetorically asked Flint who was still perfecting the report. 

"Yep," he replied, never taking his laser focused gaze off the screen. 

"Sure," Evander said blandly as he took his food back with him to the cockpit. He sat down in Alda's seat while she was in his, steering the ship. 

"I️ thought we weren't allowed to eat in here?" Alda asked accusingly, a hint of humor in her voice. 

"You're not allowed to eat in here. But the pilot is," he crunched down on a handful of cereal, smiling cheekily. 

Alda rolled her eyes and kept flying them home.

Everyone except Evander was asleep by the time their ship has exited Hyperspace. They had to make a fuel run before getting back to the Temple. According to Evander, fuel was cheaper off of Coruscant. 

Jolie's eyes opened as the ever more familiar sound of Hyperspace travel ended and the ship rattled. It was like white noise. 

She got out of bed and walked quietly to the refresher, not wanting to wake anyone else. She used the bathroom, then washed her hands and splashed some water on her face. She took a look in the mirror, and for the first time in a while, she saw bags under eyes. She could now see how tired she knew she felt. How homesick and nervous she felt. Alda's comment earlier had really stuck with her.   
"We aren't really Jedi."   
Jolie thought to herself, Am I️ going into this wrong? Does nobody actually think we're real Jedi? 

She saw a planet she'd seen before, but never in person. Never in the archives, never taught by her Jedi teachers, never. But still, she saw it. 

There was fields for miles on end.   
Forests.   
Waterfalls.   
Snow. 

Peace.

But beneath the surface, something else.   
Something that called to her. 

And it finally felt important. 

This place has crept into her dreams since she was a youngling. It was like a tease. It showed itself to her, but as soon as it felt tangible to her, it left. She wasn't sure what planet it was, or if it was even real. But either way, she had an unjustifiable feeling she'd get to the bottom of this mystery very soon. A mystery she'd been trying to solve as long as she could remember. 

When the crew reached the Temple, they all disembarked and headed to the regal building. It had only been a few days since Jolie had last been here, but it now felt foreign to her. As if she was changed so therefore the space around her had changed too. 

"The High Council said they wanted to meet with all of us in person," Alda said as they walked side by side through the halls. 

"Is that a bad thing?" Jolie asked. 

"Probably not. I'm thinking it means a new, more high stakes mission for us," Flint said with a little skip in his step. 

"Maybe," Evander said, his hands in his pockets. 

After a few more minutes of small talk, they reached the main elevator and got inside. A feeling of pride was shared among the young Jedi as they punched in the floor for the High Council Chambers. 

"So just a random thing I️ meant to ask yesterday," Jolie started, trying to turn on her most convincing face,"Do we have access to HoloCrons?" 

Flint looked over,"I️ do, but nobody else is permitted. Why do you ask?" He seemed skeptical. 

"No reason."

"Thank you, traveled a lot recently, you have," Yoda said with a wrinkled smile and bow of his head. 

"It's no trouble," Alda said, stepping forward. 

"An important mission, we have. Hopeful you can do the job well, we are." 

"That's our specialty, Master Yoda," Alda said with a confident smile. 

Yoda chuckled a little to himself,"Mhm, confident you are. Sent to an uncharted planet, you will be, to document the nature of this planet. Mainly creatures, ecosystems, and normal statistics," Yoda looked over to Jolie, importance in his eye,"Miss Peregrine, we want you to study the behavior and influence of the Force on this planet, how exactly it resides." 

Jolie kept her cool best she could and nodded assertively. 

"Good luck, Young Jedi."


	5. Theft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolie steals a Holocron, everyone else does what they’re supposed to do, except Evander, who crashes the ship.

That night they were allowed to stay in some guest quarters, reserved for traveling Jedi, like them. They were set to leave the next day, but that meant that had loads of work to do that night. 

Alda was up all night getting enough rations, water devices, heat sources, and tents for the trip. They had no idea how long they'd be there, so she got together at least two months worth. 

Flint was getting spreadsheets ready and typing up some entry reports. Until they actually got there, he had to organize all the potential data. He was also scouring his Holocron, the archives, and the holonet for any information on this planet. The trouble was, they didn't even know the exact location. That brings us to Jolie. 

Jolie set up a holomap in front of the mat in her room. She sat cross legged and meditated, even rising an inch or so above the ground. In her training she'd done simulations of this very exercise. She had to let the Force in completely and totally, letting it tell her the answers she needed. After hours of meditation, her eyes were opened unconsciously and laid upon an empty spot on the map. That was their destination. 

Evander had to prepare the ship for the long travel and make sure they had all the tools, fuel, and extra power they might need. But most of his work would come tomorrow. Jolie would guide the way and knew the coordinates, but Evander still had to fly them through uncharted space, a challenge he looked forward to.

Meanwhile, Yoda was having a final conversation for the night with his fellow Council member, and close confidant, Jedi Master Mace Windu. 

"Sense worry in you, I do," Yoda said as they both started strolling for the elevator leisurely. Yoda looked up expectantly at his old friend. 

Mace frowned and looked down to Yoda,"I still have reservations about sending that crew into the unknown," he shook his head,"Not just the unknown, but something much darker. We've both sensed it." 

Yoda nodded,"Yes, understand, I do. Visions, I've had. Shed light on the darkness, the girl will. Fix the imbalance together, they can," he smiled at Mace,"Sure of this, I am."

Evander was up at least a few hours before the rest of the group. He was trying to figure out exactly what they'd be flying through based on the coordinates Jolie had sent late last night. He'd had a lot of caf by the time he worked something together that represented a set course to take. That wasn't the end of it though. He still had to make final touches to their ship. Checking fuel gauges, pressure readings, hyperdrive, backup power, their small med bag, and the engines. He didn't mind the process though. It meant be got to be alone and listen to music in peace while he worked. 

Alda was the next up. She had gotten everything together with efficiency and in record time. She dropped it by the ship and offered to help Evander. He politely declined, so she slept in her cabin on the ship. Next Flint filtered in and dropped some extra tech he'd picked up for the trip. Jolie was the last one they needed, but she had a first mission of her own. 

This should be easy. Get in, get out, she thought to herself, trying to calm the butterflies in her gut. It's just s Holocron vault. Not a big deal. It was a big deal, she knew that. 

She casually walked through the hallway and made her way to the library. It was where the entrance to the vault was, but was locked at this hour. She had to get inside without drawing any attention whatsoever. She could either go break into another office to get a key, break the doors, or use her lightsaber to slash the circuit board. All would be way too loud. She fished in her pockets for anything she would fashion a key with to get control of the board. Everyone used R2 units and other Droids to gain access, and she had neither. Thinking back to her Padawan days, she remembered her master telling her he'd used the chip from his Wrist Comm to override it. Since that was her only decent idea, she decided to go with that and just wing it. Carefully and quietly she took off her comm and dismantled it. He took out the small chip and very quickly and precisely swiped it over the surface of the board, creating a yellow/green spark from the reaction. Eventually the board crackled, a brief haze of purple sparks traveling through it, she was in. A key pad came to life and she let herself in, locking the door behind her and putting her comm back together. 

The vault door was nothing like this. It was old fashioned, with a key held by Master Jocasta. There was no way Jolie was gonna try and step on her toes, so she needed to find another way. Fishing around in her pockets again, she had a piece of long scrap metal she'd picked up from the Hanagar the other day. By pure instinct, she inserted it into the key-hole and closed her eyes. She focused on the curves and sharp indents, feeling out the shape of the key she'd need. Suddenly, the vault opened. She took the metal out, rather shocked, and saw she'd automatically changed the shape of the metal to form a key. Smiling, she put it back in her pocket for later use. Inside the vault; her prize. A Holocron.

"Alright gang, ready to go to a dark side infested planet for no apparent reason?" Evander sarcastically asked as he flipped the switches on the various control panels along the cockpit. 

The ship hummed to life, and they jettisoned off into the unknown.

They were all sitting at the table eating dinner, the ship in autopilot in Hyperspace. They were being careful with how much they rationed out since they had no clue how long they'd be gone. 

"Jolie," Flint started as he looked over,"Do you know what Master Yoda means when he says they need to you to investigate the balance of the Force?"

Jolie swallowed a bite of the savory meal cube she had on her plate,"I'm not entirely sure. I'm guessing he just wants me to decide if there's something irregular about the balance." She shrugged,"Guess we'll know what he means when we get there." 

Suddenly, the ship rattled and quaked, interrupting the conversations they were having. Evander burst up and shot into the cockpit, the rest in tow. 

"Eve, what's going on?" Alda asked, clearly worried. 

"It's fine, I'll get it under control," he said as he flipped some switches rapidly and gripped the controls. 

Flint jumped into his seat by a scanner and started analyzing the situation. "We're falling out of hyperspace, there's some sort interference of in the lane itself!" 

Amidst the commotion and worry, Jolie closed her eyes. She focused her energy and felt the fabric of the Galaxy and what was coming next. 

She abruptly opened her eyes and spoke with urgency,"We're gonna drop soon into an asteroid belt, you need to drop now and go below it while we have time,"

"That's ridiculous! I can keep us up here, it's fine!" Evander insisted as he grimaced and furrowed his brows in concentration, determined to do things his way. 

"Listen to her, Evander," Alda said, tensions growing. 

"I'm the pilot, Alda!" He short back. 

Flint buckled himself into the seat he was sitting in and Alda got into her usual seat as well. Jolie stood for a moment, contemplating just walking away. But she knew she had to try. It was her job to guide them, not to ensure she'd be listen to. So she sat down in her seat and buckled in. 

Just as she's predicted, the ship dropped from hyperspace slowly and painfully. Where did it drop? 

Straight in the middle of an asteroid belt. 

Evander's eyes widened and he looked as if he'd seen a Force ghost. Still, his hands remained tightly gripped around the controls as he maneuvered skillfully through the death trap. It was a pilot's worst nightmare, but a fun challenge. The ship was flying around upside down, side to side, abruptly jolting every other second. Flint looked as if he was gonna puke as he gripped the arms of his chair. Alda was watching nervously. And Jolie was secretly cursing Evander for not listening to her. Though, part of her was strangely happy. They saw she was right about something. 

"Phew, that was a close one," Evander remarked, wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead. He leaned back in his chair, finally out of the belt and stable. 

"You almost got us killed!" Alda shouted, standing up angrily. 

"I saved us!" He yelled back, also standing now. 

They glared at each other until Alda took a deep breathe, rolled her eyes, and stormed out to her room. Flint awkwardly left too. 

Jolie left long before the others, before the yelling. However, she wasn't as angry or uncomfortable as they others. Sure, it bothered her immensely, but in the end it was good. Now they had seen she was as capable as they were led to believe.

When things has simmered down and they were back in Hyperspace for the long haul, Evander carefully pulled a necklace from under his shirt. The thin, silver chain felt cold in his hand. However, the clear Kyber Crystal gave him a warm feeling. It had lost it's coloring since the Jedi who once possessed it had passed on. He delicately held the necklace and leaned back in his chair, letting himself be immersed in the simple beauty of the object. 

"I miss you." 

The next morning Evander ate in the cockpit, and Alda ate in her room. That left Flint and Jolie to try and sort out the tension. 

"So uh, sorry about Evander," Flint said sheepishly,"He should've listened to you." 

Jolie smiled and shrugged,"It's okay. We're lucky he's a skilled pilot." 

Flint smiled a little to himself, baffled that Jolie wasn't the slightest bit angry. Even most Jedi would have blown a fuse. 

"So have you had any visions about this planet we're going to?" Flint asked, curiosity written all over his face,"I don't really know how your powers work..,"

"Actually, yes. Assuming I'm reading them right, the planet is grassy. With waterfalls, forests, rivers, and plains. Almost like Endor, just with more wide open spaces." 

"That was scarily specific," Flint said jokingly with a laugh. 

Jolie laughed,"I get that a lot."

Jolie and Flint talked for a while, mostly about past missions and what Jolie sensed about the planet, when suddenly red lights and alarms sounded throughout the ship. 

"Evander?" Flint asked, terror in his eyes, as he began bounding to the cockpit. 

Jolie followed, with Alda close behind. 

"I didn't think there'd be a moon here!" Evander exclaimed as he pulled up on the controls as hard as he could. 

"We're being pulled towards it!" Alda concluded. 

Flint took his seat and did a reading on the moon. "The gravitational pull is abnormally high. We'll crash land into a civilian territory!" 

"Now would be a great time for you to work your magic, Jolie," Alda said. 

"It's too late now, you've already gotten us into the situation I would've been able to steer you clear of." She spoke calmly, but deliberately. 

"Everyone strap in, this is gonna be rough," Evander said. His eyes remained laser focused. Focused on the ground that was hurtling towards them.


	6. Crash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evander crashes, Jolie can’t catch a break.

Thanks to Flint's observations and Evander's piloting, they managed to crash land in a field. Nobody was hurt, luckily, but they'd be derailed until they could repair the ship. 

The four came out of the ship, coughing and waving smoke away from their faces. 

"I can bet right now that the heating and cooling system is busted," Flint remarked. 

"And our left thruster is definitely broken," Alda added. 

"I'll head into that town, see what I can find," Evander said grimly with a bag of credits in his hand as he walked off. 

Usually Alda would go as well, but she didn't move. Just stood there fuming. 

"Uh, I'll go with him," Flint said awkwardly before jogging ahead to join him. 

Once they were gone, Alda turned to Jolie,"Look, Jolie-" she started, her Force Signature radiating guilt. 

"-It's okay. He'll come around," Jolie said with a reassuring smile,"I'm just glad we're all okay." 

Alda nodded and smiled,"Let's go see what us ladies can fix." 

Meanwhile, Flint and Evander were walking through town. It was very crowded with smog and pick pockets filling the streets. Everything seemed to be a certain shade of brown. Flint was observant as ever, scouting out anything that would come in handy. Evander was just sulking. Yes, he was looking too, but he seemed miserable. Flint wanted to help him, but he was no Alda. I should try anyways, he thought to himself. 

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked carefully, summoning all the courage he could. Questioning Evander was so easy, or safe, task. 

"Yeah. Let's just find what we need so we can get off this rock," he replied harshly. Flint decided it wasn't a good idea to keep prying, so he just continued to help Evander. 

  
Everywhere he looked, Evander saw her. Her long, blonde hair. Her calm, collected attitude. The peace she brought to everyone and everything she touched. 

His old Master. 

It was the anniversary of the day it had happened. The day his life derailed. The day he still hasn't recovered from. It haunts him, even still. 

The crystal around his neck kept reminding him she was there, from a certain point of view. The dark thoughts in his head were clouding his judgement and taking over his thoughts. They were so clouded he wasn't even listening to the one person they had who could warn the crew of danger. One thing's for sure, he was in for it once he got back.

It was almost dark on the already dark moon when Evander and Flint finally returned, along with hover carts full of equipment to use in the repairs. 

Flint saw the two young women working with the ship's hyperdrive, fixing a minor error. They both looked up, grimy faces and all. Alda saluted then jokingly and Jolie just waved. 

"At least leave some of the work for us," he said with a smile as he put a pair of goggles on and jumped down. Alda and Jolie laughed in response, thankful for something light hearted on a day that had derailed pretty miserably. 

But Evander was there to ruin the mood. "I'm gonna start dinner," he said blankly, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. 

Flint gave Alda a knowing look and she sighed, setting her goggles down,"Fine. I'll talk to him." She climbed out of the engine compartment and made her way to the kitchen. 

Evander turned, hearing her come in. "Fine. Let me have it." He leaned on the counter top with his arms folded, his hair and overall being in disarray. 

"Look. You screwed up. Big time. Jolie is here to make sure that things like this," she gestured to the ship,"don't happen. Whatever has gotten into you-" she stopped, Evander turned his back on her and rested his hands on the countertop. 

"I get the picture." 

Alda only grew more frustrated,"Come on! You clearly don't. If you did 'get the picture' then we would be on a safe course right now!" 

His head hung and he tried to hold back tears. Alda immediately softened her tone when she saw the first tear fall and splash on the black counter. 

"Eve?" She walked over and put a hand on his back, standing beside him. 

"It happened 6 years ago." 

Right away she regretting everything she just said. Her mouth gaped open in guilt. "I- I completely forgot. I'm sorry." 

He smiled sadly,"It's okay," he glanced over at the food being cooked,"I'm gonna grab a ration bar and head to my room." 

Alda thought for a moment as he sulked off,"No. You're gonna stay here and we're gonna talk through this," he turned around and she walked towards him,"Every year you mope in your room and make yourself feel even worse. It's time that stops." 

He sighed, knowing that arguing was futile,"Can we at least be where the others can't hear. Sore subject and all..." He looked around uncomfortably. 

She smiled,"Sure." 

With that, she dragged him outside and they walked off, away from the ship and city. The sun had set and stars painted the sky. For the first one since they'd gotten on this moon, the darkness was beautiful, not misplaced and grimy.

Evander's hands were in his jacket pockets and Alda's hands swung at her sides in rhythm. 

Alda looked up at him, his dark face illuminated by a bright light from the night sky. He just looked at the ground. "What's keeping you from getting past this?" She asked. 

He shut his eyes for a second and grimaced,"She was murdered, Alda," he spat the words out as if they were poison,"I just- I never caught the killer. She never got justice." 

"Well, do you think she would want justice that way? To have her own apprentice hunt some random crew of pirates down?" 

He furrowed his brows in thought before letting out a sigh,"Probably not. But I want to. I want to make those terrible people pay for what they did. It was a merciless crime, so it deserves a merciless punishment." 

If worried Alda to hear him say things like this. "You don't mean that. I know you don't. I know you. You're no hunter." He looked down into her eyes, and she up into his. 

"Sometimes I don't know who I am anymore," his frustration, anger, and guilt could be sensed from a mile away,"I keep letting this ruin my life and I don't know how to let go!" Tear droplets lines his bottom lids, reflecting the moonlight. 

Alda grabbed his arm and stopped,"There isn't an instruction book for this. I only know what needs to happen in the end. You just have to let go. Be yourself. An intelligent, brave, great friend. Not this guilt ridden man hunting after pirates. This shouldn't control you. I don't want it to control you. I know you don't want it to. And your Master wouldn't want it to either." 

After a long moment of though he pulled the necklace from under his shirt and lifted it over his neck. Holding it out in his palms. "This was her crystal," the clear Kyber captured the moonlight elegantly in the night. 

Alda put her hands around his, closing his palms. "Let go." 

He took his hands back and took one final look at the crystal. The one tangible thing he had left of her. But it was the one thing giving him a constant reminder of that day, not letting his wounds heal. He wound his arm back and then thrust it forward and up. The crystal flew like a shooting star and rocketed off into the distance, symbolically letting go. 

For the first time in a while, he let out a deep breathe. He felt like he could breathe easily again. 

He stared off into the beyond, smiling for the first time today. Somehow feeling free. 

"Are you alright?" She asked him, concern and anticipation written all over her face. 

He turned to her and smiled,"Yeah. I have memories more valuable than that thing." 

She smiled back and the two pulled each other into a quick but compassionate embrace. On that note, they went back to the ship. 

Back home.

  
Meanwhile, Flint and Jolie were fixing the ship, little by little. Flint was essentially a walking Holocron so he knew all the inner-workings well. 

"They've been gone a while," Jolie remarked as she started screwing in some replacement part to the engine. 

Flint turned off his drill,"Yeah, you're right." 

Jolie stopped and let her hands fall to her lap,"Why do you think they walked off?" She had a thought,"They aren't like..."

"No no no," Flint quickly interjected,"They're just close friends," he also stopped working,"Truth is, today had a, sort significance to Evander." 

"Oh," Jolie replied somberly, inferring that it's a bad significance based on his tone. 

"Uh, yeah... Alda knows how to get to him, though," he flipped his goggles back down over his bright blue eyes,"Can you pass me the replacement panel cover?" 

Jolie did so and went back to her job. Though, after another ten or so minutes went by she started getting a massive headache. The ache turned to stings and the throbbing worsened. She groaned under her breathe, not being able to help it. 

Flint looked over very worriedly,"Are you alright?" 

"Erm, yeah. Just a head ache," she replied dully, trying to hide a grimace. After another few minutes, when she finally thought it had passed, her heart beat began to quicken. Her skin went pale but her temperature rose rapidly. She couldn't bear it anymore and dropped her tool, then made a b-line for the ladder. 

"Jolie?" Flint asked. 

She dismissed him with a wave of her hand and went into her room, closing the door behind her. She dropped to her knees, holding her head, desperately trying to slow down whatever was happening. It was new. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Her eyes were squeezed shut and there was now a ringing going around her ears. Then suddenly, it all stopped. 

She opened her eyes to see a very opaque, dark figure. It was like a ghost before her. Right away, she was on her feet, her eyes wide open and lightsaber in hand. 

"Who are you?" She asked out loud.

The shadowy figure remained static. Nothing happened. Just as quickly as it had conjured itself before her, it just dissolved into the atmosphere like nothing happened. 

Bewildered, she sat on her bed, trying to piece together what had just happened. 

There was a knock at her door,"Jolie? Are you okay?" It was Flint. He didn't hear her say anything in response so he slowly opened the door,"Why do you have your lightsaber out?" He pointed to the silver weapon, still tightly in her grasp. 

She scrambled to put it away,"Nothing, just adjusting something." 

"If you say so. It's getting late so I'm going to turn it. Are you sure you're alright?" 

She smiled sweetly,"I'm fine. See you in the morning." 

Jolie was far from fine. She knew that. Jolie didn’t know what was happening, so she didn’t know how to tell anyone.


	7. Under-qualified

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The council asks the crew to do a task usually assigned for those who actually passed their Jedi trials. Jolie is the only one up to par. What could go wrong?

"Everyone up!" Alda yelled as she ran down the hall, banging in each door, much louder than usual. "The Council needs to talk to us ASAP!" 

The last part is what actually made everyone get up and get out of their rooms. Everyone walked out and to the main area, still in their pajamas. Once everyone was huddled around the Holo-Table, Alda patched in the transmission. 

"Good morning, young Jedi. An important and time sensitive task, we have for you," Master Yoda said. "Received the report of the crash landing, we did," he chuckled,"A good coincidence this is. Your mission is to get intel about an illegal spice cartel. Republic Spies have traced an important passage to the very moon you're on,"Master Windu entered the flickering, blue image,"There is a Ball being held for the governors of the moon tonight, along with their other staff... and friends. They are believed to be using this occasion to distract public police forces in order to pass through safely. It's supposed to be their biggest shipment of spice to date." 

"So we have to go undercover at this ball? Or actually go follow the spice?" Alda asked. Everyone stared at the screen, not sure which one to hope for more. They both seemed equally unpleasant. 

"Both. A pair undercover, and a pair to oversee the passing of the spice," Yoda replied. 

"Don't worry though, we will send you plenty of details now," Mace reassured. 

"Crucial, this is. Counting on you, we are," Yoda said seriously. 

"Well no pressure," Evander grumbled under his breathe. 

Yoda chuckled quietly and Mace cocked an eyebrow. "Good luck." Then the transmission cut out. 

"Okay, question. How exactly are four Padawan failures supposed to do this Jedi Knight caliber task?!" Flint asked in a panic. 

"Honestly, I don't know. But if they think we can do it, then chances are, we can," Alda said. 

"Guys, this Ball is tonight. Whoever is going undercover need to get some appropriate clothes," Jolie said, bringing everyone back to focus. 

"She's right," Evander said, leaning back, looking stoic as ever. 

"I think Evander and I should go to the Spice transport. We have more experience with combat and survival. Flint, you're incredibly knowledgeable and will blend in well with the crowd at this Ball," Alda said "Ball" as if it were a nasty word,"Jolie, you're very calming and hopefully you can use the Force to get some more depth to the situation," Alda explained. 

Evander got up and started walking to the cockpit,"I'll start heading to the richy-city across the planet then." 

Flint still looked like he was about to puke. Even a youngling could sense the fear in him. 

"It'll be fine. We've all got this," Jolie said with a smile. 

Flint took a deep breathe and nodded,"Yeah. We've got this."

The metropolitan area was comprised of exactly what you'd expect; rich commoners blowing all their money on lavish commodities to show off to their friends. The store was no different, in terms of price tag. It was ridiculous. 

"Thank goodness the Republic is paying for this," Flint remarked as he and Jolie walked through the store. 

"Is this really considered clothing?" Jolie asked as she held up a strappy dress that would barely surpassed her mid-second. 

Flint's face went red and he just shook his head in disgust. They got a lot of stares, which was expected. Flint was at least dressed like most normal class people in the Galaxy. Though, this clashes with the wealthy trappings of everyone on this side of the moon. 

Jolie on the other end was dressed like your typical Jedi. Dark tan, shortsleeved undershirt with a dark brown tunic over. She had leggings that went down to her knees and ankle boots. To top it all off, she had traditional wraps around her forearms. 

"Did any of your research pay off?" Jolie asked. 

"Sort of. Everything I could find was mismatching colors, at least a little bit of shininess, and either very long or very short," he replied as he took a strange looking suit off the rack. It was a dark blue shirt with a metallic collar, along with a subtly striped black and blue suit with matching pants. The crowning jewel; a white scarf. 

Jolie couldn't help but burst out laughing. 

Flint looked at it in pain,"I cannot believe I have to wear this." 

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure what I have in store is just as bad." 

Sure enough, it was. She grabbed an extremely long dress that was head to toe in sequins. They were in a gradient pattern, gold at the top and teal at the bottom. She held it up to her body and saw it was shorter in the front then the sides and back. There was also a long, dark pink cape. 

"We'd better try these monstrosities on," she said. 

Flint frowned and nodded. They went their respective ways to try stuff on.

While Jolie and Flint were exploring new horizons and preparing to act like civilized, rich partygoers, Alda and Evander were making a plan. 

"What if we try and sneak into a transport near the South entrance?" Evander asked, pointing to the holomap of the warehouse. 

"That could work as a plan B. But I think our best bet is going through the sewers and sneaking around from then," she pressed a button on the table that highlighted the sewer system in yellow,"Hopefully Jolie and Flint will be able to find some intel we can use to validate our being there." 

Evander nodded,"Sounds like a plan. So let's say we make it into the warehouse and into the main hanagar where the spice is, then what? Do we just get evidence of it?" 

Alda thought for a minute,"Honestly, I don't know. Our instructions were pretty unclear. I think if we have an opportunity to stop this load from going through, we take it. Otherwise, we get data and plant a tracker on the ship." 

"That'll at least be enough," Evander shrugged and smirked,"For a few Jedi failures." 

Alda chuckled,"That'll have to be good enough."

The time had come. Alda and Evander changed into brown toned clothes, armed with blasters under their coats. They had all their intel from the Republic Spies downloaded on their wrist-comms and a set plan. Though, they knew it would most likely be scraped once they actually got into the thick of it. 

"I still don't understand why we have to do this," Evander grumbled as he and Alda sat in the cockpit. 

"We're the only ones close enough to intercept the shipment," Alda replied,"You wanted adventure? Here it is." 

Jolie and Flint were walking side by side down the walkway towards the fancy shuttle all the party goers were taking. They had been given passes to get on, thanks to the Republic Senate. 

"I don't know how people walk with these death traps," Jolie said with annoyance as she held her hands out to her sides so she didn't fall. 

"Here," Flint said as he held his elbow out. 

She held onto it with one hand, the other still outstretched to her side. "Will anyone notice if I take these off?" Jolie asked quietly. 

Flint chuckled,"Most likely. But I have an idea," he looked around them,"Follow me." He pulled Jolie aside with him into a small alley way. "Let me see your shoes," he said as he subtly got his saber out. 

Jolie curiously handed him the shoes, grateful to have her balance back. He ignited his emerald blade and sliced the heel off of the shoe, leaving a stiff bottom. 

Jolie smiled, took them back, and put them on. It was still weird, but not as bad. 

"Shall we, milady?" Flint asked with an exaggerated accent and an outstretched arm. 

Jolie laughed and looped her arm around his. In her mind it was to blend in with the other high-class couples.

With that, they boarded the shuttle to the Ball. All senses on high alert, and ready to report their findings. 

Evander and Alda were anxiously awaiting some much needed intel from Flint and Jolie. They would need at least a high profile name to throw in the faces of anyone who tried to stop them. 

"I'm going crazy just waiting around," Alda said, fiddling with a hair tie on her lap. 

Evander swiveled his chair to face her. "Do you wanna go over the plan again?" 

She sighed,"No, I know that well enough. What if they got caught?" 

"They didn't, I'm sure."

"We both know Flint is a nervous wreck when it comes to these things. And we don't even know how Jolie gets," concern and mild panic crept across her face. 

"They haven't been in there long. Besides, Flint can pull it together when he needs to," he replied, trying his best to be comforting. 

Alda leaned back and stared at the stars through the glass ceiling,"Yeah, I know." 

"They'll call any minute." 

Flint elbowed Jolie and subtly gestured to an overweight Zygerrian man cackling with some buddies by the bar. Jolie closed her eyes and focused on the Force signatures, sensing nothing to be concerned about from the man. But she did sense something strong from the woman he was talking to. A tall, blue, twi'lek woman. 

"The woman he's talking to," Jolie said quietly,"We need to find out who she is." 

"How?" He looked completely lost. 

Jolie thought for a moment, then saw the man leave her and few other woman by the bar. "Follow my lead." 

Jolie strode over, the atrocious dark pink cape flowing elegantly behind her. Flint kept reminding himself to breathe and to trust her, so he followed. 

"Good evening, we are interns for the Governor, who as you know is hosting tonight. We're simply going around getting feedback for future Balls," Jolie said with an incredibly innocent smile, her hands clasped together behind her back. 

The women looked over, and a human spoke,"Well, I will say, the decor is slightly underwhelming. Might I suggest more holographic banners?" 

"That is a great idea. I'll see to it that he knows right away. We'd also like to offer you complimentary gifts for your cooperation and help on behalf of the Governor. Might we take your names down?" Jolie asked, still with a sweet smile and tone. 

The twi'lek looked slightly nervous, but joined in with the other women who appeared legitimately excited. Each said their name, no questions asked, except the twi'lek. She tried to walk away until the human woman grabbed her arm gently,"Dara, what's wrong?" 

Dara looked over with wide eyes,"Uh, I'll be right back." She frantically walked off. 

"Uh, if you'll excuse me," Jolie said. She started after Dara as she elbowed Flint to keep him aware. Flint stayed for a few more moments to distract them. 

Meanwhile, Jolie was speed walking after Dara through the crowd. Suddenly she felt a tap on her should and sensed Flint walking behind her. She didn't stop. "She knows something, and her mind is weak. If we play this right we can get lots of intel." 

"Right, but how do you plan on doing that?" He asked. 

Dara ducked into the ladies room. "Girls tell girls stuff," Jolie said with a smirk as she followed her inside. 

Flint stood outside the door, speechless. Did Jolie just imply what I think she did? He thought to himself. No, she'd never force anything. He quickly realized he was zoning out, and awkwardly standing in front of a ladies room wasn't helping. 

He made his way across the hall, bringing up his wrist-Comm. "Hey, I think Jolie's about to make a breakthrough." 

"We're ready," Alda replied. 

"If she's doing that, what exactly are you doing?" Evander asked. 

"Um, not going into a ladies bathroom," Flint said,"Long story." 

"Why did you run off?" Jolie asked flatly as Dara exited her stall. 

Dara looked around her, terrified. 

"I just need to know if there's anything fishy to report to the Governor." Jolie's face was stone cold. 

"Um, no the Ball is great," Dara said, taking a few steps forward. 

Jolie stepped to the side to block the door,"So, nothing fishy? Nothing at all? Because trust me, law enforcement won't be as nice as me." Her eyes bore into Dara's like lasers. 

"W-What do you know?" She asked, trying to stand tall and confidently. Nothing fooled Jolie, though. 

"Nothing. And that's why you're going to help me," she crossed her arms and took a step forward,"Who's the head of the spice operation?" 

Dara's eyes darted from side to side, looking for a way out. She was cornered. "The Commodore, Issa Molexsta." Her voice was shaky and soft. 

Jolie looked into her eyes, seeing the eyes of someone scared, but not a liar. "Where is it going?" 

"Corasaunt." 

Jolie tried to hide her astonishment and panic. "Thank you. Enjoy the party." 

Dara hurried off with Jolie right behind her. She scanned the crowd for Flint. Seeing him, she got on her comm as she jogged over. 

"The Head honcho is the Commodore, Issa Molexsta. The spice is going to Corascaunt, so look for a disguised shuttle of sorts and lots of fuel." 

"Perfect, thanks Jolie," Alda said. 

"Wish us luck," Evander added.

"May the Force be with you."


	8. Jolie is... kind of a badass.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the title says.

"Ready to do this?" Alda asked her partner in crime as the crouched low to the ground under the cloudy night sky. 

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied with a smirk. 

The two nodded to one another and then made a mad dash for the building. They knew of a back way entrance. The only problem was getting there undetected. Luckily, they were extra careful to not be seen. They stayed low and moved fast, being aware of any light nearby that would expose them. 

"This is it," Alda said as they got to the small door. The whole warehouse was seemingly in the middle of nowhere. 

Evander stepped up and used a spare R2 part to hack into the controls. From there, they unlocked the door. The tension skyrocketed as they peeled back the door, not knowing what they'd find. They both let out a huge sigh of relief to find the hallway empty. 

"Quick, lets go," Evander said as he closed the door behind them. 

The pair moved along the wall, fearfully peering around each corner. 

Alda heard a nose behind them and her eyes went wide as the moon they were on. 

"What do we do?" She whispered frantically. 

Evander looked just as scared and confused,"I don't know!" 

Alda finally came back to reality and grabbed his arm, dragging him behind her to a storage closet. They stood just a foot apart, squished among fabric and other pieces of machinery they couldn't see well. With their eyes shut tight and heavily breathing, they waited for the footsteps to pass. Finally, they did. 

"Let's go," Evander said. He cautiously opened the door, then burst out with Alda hot on his heels. 

"Slow down, you're too loud!" Alda warned. He slowed down enough to humor Alda, though the expression on his face was frustrated and reckless. 

They made their way throughout the facility like that for a few more minutes. Here is where the real work would begin. 

"Hey, who are you two?" A Zygerrian man with a data pad asked as he approached them angrily. 

"We're here for the same reason you are, buddy," Evander said with a surprising amount of swagger. 

"Oh yeah? On who's authority?" He sneered, crossing his arms and taking a step closer. 

"Issa Molexsta. That's who." Alda said, crossing her arms and keeping a stone cold poker face. 

The man glared at then and kept walking. 

"Oh Force that was terrifying," Evander said with an exasperated sign. 

"Ditto that."

The pair had to keep up the cocky attitude for a long time in order to keep the reputation they were going for. All that was left was to find the Spice Transport. 

"That can't be it," Evander said with a puzzled face,"That thing's teeny." They stood before a small civilian transport, allegedly holding the spice. 

"Just pick up a crate and bring it on, we can see for ourselves," Alda said. They both got a hover-crate and began pushing it on, pretending they belonged there. Luckily, it was enough to fool everyone. The ship looked completely normal, except for a large secret compartment under the floor. It was raised and everyone was loading it quickly. But something was... off. Alda saw it first. 

"Evander? Come look at this..." Alda was standing in front of an open crate, armed with thousands of tiny proton bombs. 

His eyes widened as he saw what she was seeing. "They're gonna bomb Corascaunt." 

Flint and Jolie were still on alert for anyone who would know something or be able to help them, but they couldn't wander around all night. People would catch on. 

"What do you say we dance?" Flint asked with his usual amount of awkwardness as they passed the ball floor, slow music playing in the background. 

"Why?" Her eyes never left the crowd she was scanning. 

"Because, if we just walk around like weirdos all night, someone will catch onto us. If we're gonna blend in, we have to really blend in," he tried to hide a nervous smile,"Plus, we may as well have fun while we're in this strange place." 

Jolie looked at him, puzzled at first, but then thought she was catching on,"I get it! Then we can get up close to people. Good idea, Flint." 

She grabbed his hand and jogged over to the floor, then froze,"How do you dance?" 

Flint had the same expression,"Um, I'm not sure. Just mimic everyone else I guess?" He hesitantly placed his left hand on her small waist as if she were glass. Then be held her other hand in the air with his right hand. She glanced to the couples around them and did the same, but put her hand in his shoulder. While they danced, Jolie stayed laser focused on the task at hand, never looking at her dance partner. Her gaze remained on the crowd of sketchy people with lots of secrets. The question was, which ones had the secrets they needed? 

Flint was doing the same, but knew that if anyone was suspicious, Jolie would sense it long before he did. He couldn't help but look into her eyes, being happy to act a little more normal for a few moments. Not that lavish balls were normal, but certainly more normal then not being able to love.

They were soon interrupted by a transmission from Evander and Alda. 

"This is urgent! Can anyone hear?" Alda asked over the crackly comm. 

"Not well enough. What's up?" Flint asked, worry slowly creeping onto his face. 

"There isn't any spice. It's thousands of proton bombs," Alda said,"I don't know how we're gonna stop this." 

"Okay, just stay calm," Flint started,"We'll keep doing some-" 

He looked next to him to see that Jolie had vanished. 

"Uh, some more searching. We'll keep you posted," Flint hurriedly said before ending the transmission and rushing off to find where the girl had gone. 

He eventually found her by a door that was down a very small, discrete hallway. 

"What are you doing?" He asked quietly, some aggressiveness in his voice. 

"Shush," she snapped. He was speechless as she had her right palm on the metal door, the other by her side. Her left hand was slowly folding into a fist, beads of sweat were forming in her forehead. Her breathing quickened and she grimaced. 

"Follow me," she said suddenly, coming out of her trance before quickly scurrying off again. 

"Jolie!" Flint jogged to keep up,"Jolie, what are you doing?!" 

"Shush or I'll forget the password!" She replied. 

"Password to what?!" He snapped at her. 

"What did I just tell you!" 

He backed off and just followed her. Has she lost her mind?! He thought to himself. He was beginning to notice that most of the time he never knew if she even had a mind to begin with. 

Jolie eventually stopped when she had crossed the ballroom and reached the other side. There was another hallway that she ducked into. Flint cautiously followed her, still clueless. She then ducked to her knees to punch in this password she spoke of into a control panel. 

"Coast clear?" She asked. 

Flint looked around,"Uh, Yeah." 

She whipped her head back around and opened the door. They both quickly slipped in and she closed it behind them. It led to a flight of stairs. 

"Care to explain?" He asked as they walked up the stairs. 

"I got a feeling. This password just called to me, so it must mean something," she dragged her fingertips along the wall,"There's more to this than we know."

"What exactly do you think is happening?" He asked.

"I'm hoping this stair case will tell us." At the top was a holo table, and ten guards surrounding it. 

"Hands up!" 

"Don't move!" 

The four armored guards raised their guns and pointed them at the pair. Flint froze in fear, but Jolie was just waking up. She closed her eyes and moved her hand sideways, as if to swat a fly away. The men froze now too, their guns effortlessly falling to the ground with a loud, hollow crash. 

"Get the data chip," Jolie said calmly to Flint from over her shoulder. It was an eerie calm, a terrifying calm. Flint didn't know what to think so he just followed her instructions and ejected the data chip, then slipped it into his pocket. 

"Run when I say so," she instructed, slowly backing away from the frozen guards. Flint nodded nervously. 

Jolie backed all the way to the door,"Run and hijack a shuttle, quick." 

"But what about you?" 

"I'll be right there," Jolie responded flatly, all her focus on the guards. Flint took off, looking back one last time, and then booked it for the shuttles. They're driven by Droids. You can beat a droid, he thought to himself, but even he wasn't convinced. 

Jolie grimaced as her characteristic headaches started to return. Her head throbbed, she went pale, and started sweating.

"Nice meeting you," she said before dropping them to the ground with a thud and leaping down the flight of stairs, landing with a roll at the bottom. 

The guards chased her, firing their guns the entire time. She dodged them as long as she could, but her luck was running out. She burst out the last door and into the ball, using the people to her advantage. 

"Stop that girl!" 

Never thought of that, she thought to herself, regret flowing over her. She saw at least 15 people abandon their dancing and reach for her. Big, strong hands clawing at her, trying to stop her. 

Hope this works. She bent her knees and then extended them, using the Force to rocket into the air and grab onto a massive chandelier. The hundreds of gems on the chandelier chimed in a chaotic rhythm, some taking the plunge towards the ground. Her arms burning, she pushed off and let go, sending her across the vast ballroom and right towards a stained glass window. She covered her face with her forearms, ducked her head, and braced herself. The glass shattered into millions of pieces, s select few of those pieces piercing her skin. She tried to ignore the sharp pain and landed on the fake grass outside, doing a double roll to absorb the impact. 

"Jolie!" 

She looked to her far right and saw Flint piloting a small civilian shuttle. She gratefully smiled and slid inside. 

"We need to get to Corascaunt before they do," she said between heavy breathes. 

Alda and Evander called next. Evander's face appeared on the controls,"What's going on? Everyone here is picking up the pace all of a sudden!" 

"Jolie just did something, but I still don't know what." 

"Of course she did," Evander said flatly. 

"I found this," Jolie said as she plugged the data chip in and patched it into both transmissions so everyone could see. A pirate looking woman appeared on the blue hued screen. 

"This Moon will no longer stand idly by while the rich corrupt our world! We will not longer tolerate our lazy Senate! We will not stand for this any longer!" 

"They're sending a message. They knew that the Republic would find out, so they figured they'd send less capable people if it was a spice operation. It's a cover for the bombs you both found, while also giving the Republic a false sense of understanding. Like we saw, they believe they found the true crime," she didn't seem to notice all the deep cuts on her arms and face, dripping blood slowly with glass shards poking out. She began to pick the tiny pieces out as the hot when the red liquid seeped into her mouth. 

"Is the ship flying remotely?" Flint asked. 

"Yeah, we were gonna stowaway and try to crack it," Alda added. 

"And if that doesn't work?" Flint asked. 

"Then you and I will be there," Jolie said definitively, wiping blood from her face, determination and a look of abstract darkness in her eyes.


	9. Nobody I’d Rather Die Beside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst is coming,,, sorry in advance

"You head to the med-bay, I'll be right over," Flint told Jolie when they departed the shuttle and got on their old ship. It was in a desolate field, where Alda and Evander dropped it. 

Jolie nodded and went into the tiny room full off medical supplies. Their was a cutout in the wall to make a bed. She opened a few cabinets until she found a round container of bacta cream. She grabbed that along with gauze and bandages, then sat on one end of the bed. She had ripped up that awful cape to stop the bleeding in the large gashes, so she unwrapped those few spots. One large gash was on her right arm, and the other went from across her left cheek to her right eyebrow. She applied the cream, then a bandage, and wrapped it with gauze. She did that for a few other cuts on her arms that were large enough to get infected. The minor ones she left to heal in their own. 

"Okay, we are now on course to Corascaunt," Flint walked in, still a little shaken from everything,"Are you feeling alright?" 

Jolie looked up,"Yeah, just a few scrapes." 

Flint walked over and looked at her arms. The glass had really done a job on them. "A few scrapes?" Jolie kept her hands on her lap and tried not to show the one bad cut. Flint noticed pretty quickly and he flipped her arm over,"Jolie. Why did you do that? I mean, the guards and the chase and jumping through glass? We're not being expected to shut down some complicated operation. You didn't have to do any of that" 

She took her arm back. "And yet, I did." Her expression was cold as stone, like back with the guards,"I'm a Jedi, not a coward."

There was a long, awkward silence. Flint wasn't sure what to say to that. "Do you want any help?" 

"No thanks, the ship can't pilot itself for long." She cracked a small smile. 

Flint got up and went back to the cockpit. 

Once he left, she got up and went to the mirror between a set of cabinets. She looked at the gash on her face and saw she had some dried blood dripping down around it. She grimaced at the ugly look of it and cleaned it up with some soap and water, wincing a little at the sting. Next she rummaged through yet another cabinet and found some large bandaids, which she cut to fit the cut without covering her eyes. Repeating the same process as before, she applied the Bacta, bandage, and secured it with a bandaid. The black, almost skin like adhesive stretched from the bridge of her nose, then diagonally up through the middle of her left eyebrow. 

"Good enough," she said to herself. Then she put the supplies back and went to her room to change. 

"I could not waste another second in that awful excuse for clothing," she remarked as she sat down in the cockpit. 

Flint laughed,"Do you mind taking over while I change?" 

Jolie nodded,"Sure," And stood to take his place. 

"It's not that hard, just-"

"-Seriously?" She interjected, a sharp glare pointed towards Flint. 

His face went red and he awkwardly turned, then walked out to his room. 

I wish people would stop treating me like I'm some child, Jolie thought to herself. I'm quiet, not helpless. She thought back to when she was little, shielded from the world by her teachers. She never trained normally, never socialized normally, just wasn't... normal. And she didn't know why. 

She sensed Flint walk back in. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to help," he said, still looking embarrassed. 

"Thanks, but I don't need it," Jolie said, getting up and going to her room down the hall to form a plan. 

She sat down on her bed. I so wish I could just meditate now, she thought to herself, but duty calls. She closed her eyes and let herself be absorbed in her thoughts and strategies, hoping they could pull this off. 

"They're lifting off soon, we need to hide someplace," Evander warmed Alda outside the flying death trap. 

"I know. Any ideas?" They were pushing crates around to look busy, but could sense suspicion in the legitimate people here. 

He was about to answer when someone walked up to them, a very rough looking Twi'lek man with one Lekku cut short, a hefty scar across it. He stood very close, his arms crossed in front of his large chest. "That's it, I'm calling wampa-shit on you two. You clearly aren't supposed to be here." 

Alda spoke first,"How so?" She crossed her own arms, trying her best to seem cocky. 

The man chuckled and pointed to his nose,"You don't smell bad. I mean that both figuratively and literally," his expression turned darker,"What do you want, some money? Part of the pay?" 

"We want our fair share," Evander said with a stone cold face, but his voice wasn't as convincing. 

He cackled,"You're not changing our minds. We're stubborn," he said with a smirk. Other members of the group, many different races, gathered around him. "What do we do with people who try and screw us over?" He asked loudly. 

"Kaboom!" A tall, thin, Zygerrian said, making an explosion with his hands, an almost psychotic, toothy grin on his face. 

"Let me show you to your ride home," he said with a devious look, then grabbed their shirt collars. He dragged them next to him and walked towards the armed ship. Then he threw them inside and they landed with a loud thud on the metal floor. 

"Hope you got what you came for," the man said with that same smirk as he closed the ramp. Then the ship fired to life and took off towards its unsuspecting target. 

"They made that much easier," Alda said, a smile on her face. 

"I could've done without the crash landing though," Evander said as he felt his head for a giant bump or something. 

Alda eagerly hopped up. "You get Flint to help you hardwired this piece of junk. I'll call the Council."

The more she though, the more her head hurt. Jolie was laying on her back on her bed, trying to think of a way her and Flint could help stop the ship. She could hear Flint giving instructions to Evander and Alda to take back control, but she had to think of something she could do. We are set to reach Corascaunt first, she thought to herself. So we can at least try and warn people, make sure the area is evacuated, she sighed in frustration, but the Jedi will have already done that. Ending on that frustrating note, and the fact that she could feel her other symptoms piling into her headache, she left her room and went to see what was happening. Hopefully contribute something. 

"Is there a thin, green wire in that fuse box?"

"Flint, what the hell is a fuse box?" Evander asked over the Comm. 

"It's the larger metal box to the side of the main computer," he replied casually. 

After a few grunts and metal clashes, Evander replied,"Okay, got it. Yes there is a wire." 

"Ok, that's an old trick to sabotage ships. Long story that we don't have time for. You're going to need to conduct the power going through that wire to another one." 

"Can I just cut it?" He asked as if it were obvious. 

"No no no!" Do not cut that. It'll start a chain reaction and you'll explode," Flint said, jumping forward with agitation in his voice. 

"Okay!" Evander replied,"So how am I supposed to rewire this?" 

"Do you have anything that can be a good conductor? Like a small piece of metal?" Flint asked. 

"Let me go check, I'll be back," Evander said before running off to search. 

Flint took that time to think about something other than that stupid ship. He could rewire something in his sleep, though he worried these criminals were much smarter than they thought. If they did something to the main computer, they were in trouble. 

Jolie was still on his mind. The different side he saw in her that night. The powerful, fierceness she displayed. Single handedly taking out those guards and the others attending the ball. He couldn't forget that massive leap through the stained glass, and more importantly, the damage. She swore it was nothing, but he could sense she was, at the very least, stretching the truth. That was another conversation for another time. 

Even though he had all these important observations in his brain, like Jolie's surprising adaptability, he couldn't help but be selfish about one thing. She didn't really dance with him. 

"Alda do we have any metal?!" Evander yelled as he rummaged through every cabinet he could find. 

"What do you even mean? We're flying in a giant piece of metal!" She yelled back from the cockpit. 

"Ugh!" He grunted in frustration. There was nothing. Time was ticking and they only had a few hours left. The trip there took a day, but the trip back was in a more streamline Hyperspace Lane. Unfortunately for them. 

"Evander?" He heard from his wrist comm. 

"Yeah. Can't find anything." He replied. 

"Are there any pieces on your saber? This is crucial." Flint said, desperation evident in his tone. 

Evander glanced down at his belt. He wasn't even sure why he carried it anymore. They never used them. Unclipping the weapon, he remembered back to when he built it. He did remember putting a conducting metal inside it to wire a special length adjuster to it. His master had shown him that. Reluctantly he took it apart, piece by piece, and found the stick of metal. "Got it."

"Carefully cut part of the coating off another wire. Use the one for utilities, it can handle the extra voltage without disrupting anything." 

"Flint, I don't know about this,"Evander said as he began to cut. 

"This is the only way you'll be able to do this in time. Did you cut it?" 

"Yeah. Gonna try and conduct the power now." Evander cautiously held the curved piece of metal near the board. Carefully he put one end to the green wire and the other to the opening in the other wire. "Uh, is it supposed to be smoking?" He asked nervously. 

"No. Are there sparks?" Flint asked. 

Evander's eyes boggled, but of course Flint couldn't see that,"This thing is gonna blow!" 

"Get away from the engine room and close the door!" Flint yelled to his friend. 

Evander took off towards the cockpit, closing the door behind him. The explosion was minor, but the circuit board was beyond repair. 

"Alda! The wire-" he stopped, seeing her frozen in her chair as she stared in front of her. "Alda?" 

She turned, eyes wide with bewilderment,"The Council just called. They picked this ship up. They're almost positive it's heading for the Temple." She looked down,"And we can't do anything about it," she threw her hands up in frustration,"We can't rewire it, can't diffuse the bombs, and I've tried every code I know to take back control!"

"At this point, you're right," he sat down next to her,"But Flint and Jolie will." 

It was like she didn't near him. "Eve, what if we die here?" 

He was silent for a moment, but then put a hand on hers, taking a rare, serious tone. "Everything will work out okay." 

"And if it doesn't?" 

He smiled,"Then I can't think of a better person to die next to," he then chuckled a little bit,"But I promise, we will not be taken down by some dumbass pirates."


	10. But Not Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone’s okay and even more curious about Jolie

As they ran through the halls of the Temple, Jolie was the only one who didn't look like an anomaly with her Jedi attire. Flint looked more like a street person than a Jedi. 

"Why won't they pick up!" Flint yelled in frustration as he kept trying to get a transmission through to the Jedi High Council. 

"They're probably busy," Jolie said calmly, countering Flint's panicked state. 

They kept running to the elevator. When they reached it, they didn't bother to let anyone else on. They didn't have long before Evander, Alda, and the ship would come crashing towards the planet, bringing destruction with it. 

Bursting into the Council Room, they were greeted with looks of confusion and agitation. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Master Mundi asked. 

"We've been trying to reach you all day. There's a ship, that you picked up on your scanners, filled with proton bombs. It's being remotely controlled from the moon we crashed on and is heading straight for the Temple." Flint reported,"We've tried everything but we can't get control of the ship. It will be here any minute." 

Alda and Evander sat in the cockpit, getting a transmission ready for Flint and Jolie. 

"We're out of Hyperspace and hurtling towards Corascaunt. Is the Temple evacuated?" Alda asked over comm, not the least bit concerned for their own safety. 

A frustrated and panicked Flint answered,"No! We're working on it now. The Council said they-," he paused and got choked up,"-they will have to gun the ship down before you hit the surface..." 

Evander and Alda exchanged a sorrowful, but knowing look, then nodded to each other. 

"Do it," Evander said. 

"No, we have to try! They're trying to get through to the Republic Military, they can probably stop the ship somehow," Flint protested with shouting in the background. 

"No, gun the ship down! We can't be the reason that so many people will die!" Alda said. 

"Plus, we're gonna die wether the bombs go off or we're gunned down, so do the practical thing and gun this ship down!" Evander added. 

Flint was saying something but it was inaudible and muffled. Even though they weren't strong with the Force, Evander and Alda could sense the conflict and utter sadness from their friend. But they knew he would do the right thing. 

Suddenly they could hear Jolie take the comm,"We are not gunning you down. I can stop this!" Rare enthusiasm and urgency in her voice. 

"Jolie? Jolie?!" Alda's voice was filled with pure confusion and worry. 

"She's gonna get us all killed!" Evander yelled, annoyance now seeping into his face. 

"Flint, what is she doing?!" Alda asked, now panicking. 

"I don't know! I'm trying to keep up with her!" Flint exclaimed. 

"That girl is crazy, what does she think she can do?" Evander asked Alda.

"I have a feeling we're about to find out." 

The ship had entered the atmosphere of Corascaunt. To meet it's match. 

Jolie was running as fast as she could go, dodging other people running for the exits of the Temple. Red blinking lights dimly lit the halls and sirens echoed throughout the ancient structure. The other Jedi were running out the back, away from the ship. She, on the other hand, was running towards it. 

"The exit is the other way!" Someone yelled to her. She ignored them. 

Scenarios and consequences were playing through her head. She was taking a massive gamble. If she failed, then her friends, herself, and the Temple would be destroyed. If she failed. 

Bursting out the huge main doors to the Temple, she saw the ship. It was going so fast it looked more like a meteor, with the sparks and flames coming from the nose. 

This was it. Now or never. 

She planted her feet, closed her eyes, and outstretched her hands. She felt the force, the inertia, from the ship. The insane speeds and danger it possessed. The death that this one ship could bring. 

Her head began to ache. Her skin went cold and pale, but per usual, she was sweating. She knew this would happen. She just didn't know if she could handle it this time. 

Now she was rapidly realizing just how heavy this ship was. Just how difficult it would be to bring it to a halt. Still, her feet were glued to the steps of the Temple and she leaned forward into the weight of it all. Though, that of course would bring more symptoms. Her ears were ringing. So loud that she couldn't hear anything but that awful sound, drowning out all her senses. Grimacing, she powered through it. 

She pushed against the ship, more and more, until she finally felt herself get some hold of it. Opening her eyes, she saw for herself that it was slowing down. If it weren't for the pains she was having, she would be smiling. Closing her eyes again, she kept on pushing. Holding back this ship that was still exponentially speeding up and weighed ten times she did. 

It was now close enough to touch the tops of the skyscrapers that covered every inch of Corascaunt. Her grasp was just as strong, but she was weakening fast. All of the Force Pains sinking in, she sunk to her knees, feeling tears stream down her cheeks, summoning every ounce of strength and endurance she could find.

The ship miraculously kept slowing down until she couldn't bear it anymore. She fell back. 

Luckily, that was long enough. 

Evander and Alda sat in the cockpit, bracing for death, yet feeling the ship slow down. 

"How is this happening?!" Alda asked. 

Evander looked down, squinting. "Is that who I think it is?" 

Alda looked now too. "Oh my god!" She looked over at Evander, jumping out of her seat,"Jolie is actually stopping it!" 

Evander brought his comm up,"Flint! Jolie's on the front steps stopping the ship!" 

"She's what?!"

"Jolie!" Flint yelled as he bounded down that stairs of the Temple. She was lying on her back with one knee still bent up to the sky. To his disbelief, the ship was stopped at the base of the steps. No harm was done, at least to the ship. 

Evander and Alda came running out, coughing from the smoke on the outside of the aircraft, and met Flint by Jolie. 

"Are you alright?" Alda asked her, extreme worry on her face. 

Jolie just nodded before her eyes began to flutter shut. 

"We need to get her to a healer," Evander said, getting up to clear a path through the chaotic halls. 

Alda bent down, hooking one arm under her knees and the other under her back. Then, after picking her limp body up, she started running after Evander. 

Flint ran next to her, tapping her shoulder and talking to her, desperately trying to wake her up. She seemed so frail now, so helpless, but they had all learned by now to not be fooled by that. 

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

Jolie opened her eyes. She looked around her and saw the surroundings of a room in the Halls of Healing. There was a scanner next to her monitoring her vitals. All seemed normal. 

Until she saw it. The Shadowy Figure that had appeared in her room just days before. She was more fearful now. 

Last time, it was speechless. This time, however, was different. 

"Fake." 

She looked at the dark, smoky, human form with confusion and fear. The voice was echoey and ambiguous. She had no idea of who it belonged to. 

"Who are you?" She asked softly. 

The figure slowly raised it's arm and pointed to her with an outstretched, terrifying finger, finally seeming to take a solid shape. 

She shut her eyes and rubbed her temples, praying this was some sick illusion from the accident. When she opened them, the figure was gone. It left no traces. But it lingered in her mind. 

Fake...

This was no illusion. 

  
Meanwhile, high in the Council Chambers, an older man was meeting with the Jedi Council. The older man being Master Dan Rursi. Jolie's Master. 

"I really believe we need to tell her the truth," Rursi said from his stance in the middle of the circle. The members of the Council all sat surrounding him in their different chairs. He stood with his hands behind his back, respectfully. 

"When the time comes, know she will," Yoda said. 

Like always, he condemned his frustration,"Master Yoda, she's 18. Not to mention, she's probably lost and confused and scared. She keeps having those... the... I don't know what they're called. But these "Force Pains" keep occurring and they're getting worse," Rursi explained. 

"We don't know for sure if that's what's causing them. They could be unrelated," Windu said, making a slight gesture with his hand as he spoke,"What you're also not taking into account, Master Rursi, is the impact on the results if she were to know the truth." His face was stone cold, emotionless. 

Rursi just sighed in defeat, knowing he wouldn't get anywhere. "I'm going to go check on her," he started to walk out but paused and spoke over his shoulder, a sharper tone,"I'll report my findings."

The three crew members were in the cockpit of their ship, all in their respective seats. Except Jolie. 

"She's gonna be okay, right?" Flint asked. 

Just outside the window they could see the bomb-ship being taken care of. Alda smiled and put a hand in his arm reassuringly,"I'm sure she's fine," she shook her head slightly,"I still can't believe she did that." 

Evander chuckled,"Must be the Chose One," he made silly gestures with his hands and a funny face. 

Alda elbowed him from her seat and they all laughed. Flint went on to explain the events at the ball. 

"It was so... I don't know. Weird. It was like she turned into another person," he scratched his ragged hair,"I'm not sure what to think." 

"What do you mean?" Evander asked, not intrigued. 

"Well, if she acts so drastically different in high-stakes situations, is that really a good thing?" He asked. 

"She did get the job done," Alda pointed out. 

Flint sighed,"Maybe it's just me but it really did seem strange for her. I'm talking bounty hunter level sass and swagger, lying, stealing, I'm pretty sure she corned some woman in a bathroom to get information, and have you seen her arms?" 

Alda and Evander's eyes widened as he went through his list. They both shook their heads. 

"In order to evade the guards chasing her, she first had to maneuver through the dance floor, then she jumped to a chandelier and used that to swing herself through a stained glass window all the way across the venue. Her arms got pretty banged up and she's got one bad incision on her face," Flint gestured in his arms where Jolie had hurt hers. His photographic memory kicked in and he remembered the exact locations. 

Evander smirked and leaned back in his chair,"I'm starting to like her," Alda glared at him and he leaned forward again,"I'm kidding! Is she okay?" 

They both looked expectantly at Flint. "She patched herself up pretty well. She was really calm about it all too. Almost like it's happened before."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Evander said frankly. 

"She is an enigma," Alda added. 

She's a mystery, Flint thought to himself, There's more to her then we know.


	11. Her Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *in dr strange voice* We’re in the endgame now

"Hey kiddo, how's it hanging?" Master Rursi asked as he leaned around the doorway, smiling. 

Jolie laughed and perked up. "Fantastic," she replied dryly, still smiling. "In all seriousness, I'm fine. Just tired." 

He sat down beside the bed and a more serious look of concern spread across his face. "Have you ever done something of that magnitude before?" 

She sighed,"No. But I had to." 

He smiled,"I know. You have always put others ahead of yourself." 

She knew the talk that was coming up and frowned,"They're my friends, I can't let them die." Her voice was defiant and certain. 

"Jolie, all I'm saying is you can't let yourself die either. You know the possibilities that come along with your powers." 

"I'm not any different from any other Jedi, okay?" She suppressed an eye roll. 

Rursi shook his head,"Look, Jolie. I-" he paused as if he needed to think about what he was about to say,"I had faith that you'd infer this earlier, but you're a bit of an anomaly." 

She cocked her head to the side a bit. "What do you mean?" 

"Well, it's clear you're more powerful than most, if not any other Jedi currently in the Order. At least in some aspects. Nobody is sure why, but it's just..," he paused to think of the word. 

"An enigma?"

He smiled and chucked a bit. "Yes, you're indeed an enigma." 

She smiled. 

He stood and patted her arm. "I spoke to a healer outside and they said you're free to go, just take it easy." 

The smile stuck and she got out of the bed right away to strap her boots on. Once she was ready, which wasn't long, the two walked from the Halls of Healing and out into the main hallway. 

"For the record, that was extremely impressive," Rursi said, nudging her arm. 

She just smiled and savored the moment with her Master. He was more of a father to her. 

"How are things with the new assignment?" He asked her, referring to Explore Corps. 

She smiled, reminiscing over the last week or so. "It's been great. It's really exciting and I think it suits me." 

He smiled. "I'm glad. How's the crew?"

"In general, they're great too. Alda is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Evander is, at the least, some comic relief. And Flint is really smart."

He chuckled a bit,"I'm so happy it's going well. I was a little worried, but I can't remember why. You're a natural." 

The three crew members were sitting in the dining area on the ship, eating cereal for lunch, tension hanging in the air. 

"This won't compromise the mission, right?" Flint asked. 

"Hm, I don't know Flint. Why don't we think back to the last time some wizard girl of ours blacked out from stopping an incoming ship using the Force." Evander gave him a sarcastic, dry look and then went back to his food. 

Alda suppressed laughter, even if it was a little too snarky. "Take a chill pill, Evander."

Then, as if on cue, Jolie casually walked back on the ship and into the dining area. 

"Jolie?" Alda asked, puzzled. 

"How are you feeling?" Flint added. 

"I'm fine. What's the hold up?" She replied as if everybody was crazy. 

"You are, missy," Evander said blandly, not looking away from his bowl as he scraped the edges. 

Jolie didn't react at all, but instead dropped her bag in her room. "Let's get going." 

"You heard the Pathfinder," Alda said, elbowing Evander and chuckling. 

He rolled his eyes and smiled, then brought his cereal with him to the cockpit. Within seconds the ship hummed to life and they were off. Hopefully not to be stopped by more crash landings, stupidity, or bombers.

Jolie sat in her room, gazing out her window at the blur of Hyperspace lanes. Thinking about what they might find. But also this strange darkness that seems to be making itself known to her. She still couldn't wrap her brain around why the Dark Figure called her fake. But also said that it was her. The Figure itself, was her. At least, that's what she thought. 

A knock at her door interrupted her train of thought. 

"Come in," She said, turning slightly to watch the door. 

Flint walked in, pretty awkwardly, and scratched the top of his head. "Uh, I just feel like I owe you an apology," he took a few steps forward and then looked out the door, hearing Alda and Evander laughing in the other room,"Can I just close this?" His pale face was turning red. 

Jolie chuckled,"Yeah. Sit." 

She scooted back and say cross legged against her bed frame, with Flint sitting across from her, one leg dangling over the edge of the bed. 

"I don't know how exactly to articulate myself, but I feel like I've been less than respectful to you. We all have." 

Jolie smiled reassuringly,"Thank you for saying that." 

"So, uh..," his voice awkwardly trailed off as he tried to summon the words. He looked down and his cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink. 

"Apology accepted," she said as she touched his knee, bringing his attention back to reality. 

He smiled and looked at her arm, noticing the bad cut hadn't totally healed yet. Then he frowned more. 

"Flint, it's fine. Just a scrape," she extended her arm more to point out the cut,"The skin is growing over and everything."

"Can't you heal yourself?" He asked, assuming she'd say yes. 

"Nope. Don't know how." 

"Oh. Well my Master taught me some basic stuff. Might help you avoid a scar."

Jolie smiled,"Thanks, Flint. I think I'm just going to do it's own thing." 

He chuckled a little and then stood to leave, but stopped and turned around after a few steps. "Are you really okay? I mean, you just seemed in trouble there." 

She nodded. "I'm fine." 

He could sense something off. She's holding back, he thought to himself. 

She raised her eyebrows and stood up . "I'm fine. Don't worry." 

He smiled a mostly fake smile and left. 

"So she's okay?" Alda asked as Flint sat down with her and Evander around the table. 

He shrugged,"She seems fine enough," the other two looked at him questioningly,"She's holding back about something. I'm not sure what it is."

They both frowned, a grim feeling setting into the small area. 

"Do you think she'd tell you?" Alda asked,"You're clearly the closest one to her." 

Flint shook his head. "I'm not going to pry. For all we know, especially considering how powerful she is, it could be some complicated deal with the Force." 

"She just seems a little lost if you ask me," Evander said. "I mean, don't you feel like this kind of work is beneath her? She should be out stopping gangs and crime syndicates. Not exploring rinky-dink planets on the edge of the galaxy." 

"The Force works in mysterious ways." They all spun around at the unexpected sound of Jolie's calm voice. She flashed a slight smile before turning to go back to her room. 

The three all shared a rather confused look. 

"I'm headed back to the cockpit," Evander said,"This is getting out of my league." He got up and grabbed a snack on his way. 

"He's gonna get crumbs everywhere," Alda remarked with a chuckle as she got up and put her dishes in their small sink. 

"There's already crumbs everywhere," Flint pointed out with a sarcastic smirk. 

Alda laughed. "See you in the morning." 

"Good night." 

The next morning, Evander called everyone in the cockpit so he could land their ship. They had arrived. 

The planet was small. More like a moon than a planet. 

"Alright guys, strap in!" Evander yelled back. The crew jogged in and sat in their seats, eagerly pitched forward to see what they were in for.

"We're gonna need some warm gear," Alda said disappointedly as they were met with a whirlwind of snow. 

As they descended to the surface, the snow calmed to a light dusting and allowed them more visibility. Tall evergreens covered in a blanket of snow lined various parts of the land. Just past the forest, a small, flat area of pure snow complimented by a frozen lake. The sky was a brilliant blue and soft purple with fluffy clouds high up above them raining snow. 

Flint immediately started logging this into his data pad, swiftly typing in the projected hologram keyboard. 

Once they were all dressed in thick parkas, they made their way down the ramp. 

"Wow," Alda remarked. 

Even Evander seemed taken aback at the beauty of this hidden gem. He was speechless, gazing around at this new world. 

Flint was busy taking pictures and logging in data, but he was still astonished. 

Jolie, on the other hand, looked straight in front of her. "That's weird."

"What is?" Alda asked. 

"The purple sky?" Evander suggested. 

She shook her head,"You don't see that?" 

"See what?" Flint joined in. 

Jolie kicked the snow around with her foot. It didn't disappear. "That glowing trail. You don't see it?"

The three all shook their heads and said no. 

Jolie didn't say anything more, but followed the trail she saw. The others all exchanged a look of puzzlement and worry, but followed their friend into the unknown. 

But this was not meant to be their journey.   
It was hers.


	12. Everything.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolie learns everything about her past, and almost dies. The crew saves her, but she’s got even more questions now.

"Jolie, where are you going?" Alda asked as the three of them followed her through the snow. She was weaving through the snow covered forest like a wolf hunting prey. The prey being a glowing path only she could see. 

"Just go back to the ship. Whatever this is I don't wanna drag you all into it." Her voice was steady and calculated as always. She never looked away from the ground. 

The three all shared a look, then a definitive nod. "We're here with you," Alda said. 

"All the way," Flint added with a smile. 

"What they said." Of course that was Evander. 

She finally stopped and turned to them. She simply smiled. "Thanks." Maybe I'm not alone after all, she thought to herself. 

Before long, Jolie had navigated through the woods. She saw the glowing trail, but it wasn't the snow. It was like it was shining from the core of the planet. The others couldn't see it.   
It was brilliant to Jolie. Fascinating. 

They emerged from the forest to find a vast, frozen over river. 

"You and rivers, huh?" Evander asked rhetorically. 

"What do you see?" Flint asked her, walking to her side. 

She stared down at the ice. "It keeps going with the flow of the river. The entire river is glowing," she pointed downstream where they could see the faint silhouette of a water fall,"It goes there." 

"Let's go, then." Flint gave her that reassuring smile. It never failed to make her feel better. 

She nodded in agreement and took a step onto the ice, warily in case it broke. It was solid. 

They all slowly walked along the iced river, still following this glow. Jolie's connection to the Force seemed to grow, but so did her worry. They could all sense the darkness, and for some reason, Jolie felt like it was here for her. She couldn't put her finger on it, so she just kept going with her friends by her side. 

They finally came to a stop just before the edge of the water fall. The ice broke around the giant rocks, allowing for water to deep through and crash down below. 

"Where is it going now?" Alda asked, concern growing. 

Jolie looked at them, fear written all over her. "It goes down. Down the waterfall." After a moment of deep thought she made up her mind. "I've dragged you all far enough. Just hold my jacket," she began to take her thick parka off,"It'll just bog me down." 

Flint's eyes shot wide open as he got wind of what she was about to do and he gripped her arms so she couldn't get the sleeves off. "You're not serious, right?" 

"Very," She saw the terrified looks of everyone,"The Force is calling me down there. I have to jump." She shrugged Flint's hands away and continued taking her jacket off. Already, she began to shiver. 

Everyone was silent for a moment, knowing she was right. And that they couldn't convince her otherwise. 

Flint cut off the tense silence and took a few brave steps forward to hug her. "Just please come back."

She smiled and returned the embrace after a brief moment of surprise. "Trust me, I'll try." 

That being said, she stepped back and gave them one last smile. Then, she jumped. 

Jolie fell feet first towards the frigid, unknown waters of this mystery planet. She felt fear for just a moment, but knew she was in the hands of the Force itself. She just hoped the Force was with her now.

The water collided with her like daggers. The cold practically paralyzed her, until she saw it; a single, glowing fish swimming down the river. She let the current take her and paddled with it as fast as she could to keep up with this fish. She sensed something about it. Like it shouldn't be here, but still it is. That means it has a reason to be here. Like her. 

As she powered through the cold that she could only compare to the vacuum of space, she quickly was running out of air. She looked above her and was able to reach up and touch the ice. It was at least a few inches thick. She was frozen stiff and running out of air. Obviously she wanted to find out where this fish was leading her, but she wanted to survive more. 

Focusing on the ice, she tried to use the Force to break a hole in it. But to her horror, she couldn't. Panicking fast, she tried harder and harder but nothing happened. She then tried to use the Force to take a strap off her boot, as a test to see if it would work, but it didn't. I can't use the Force! 

The fish suddenly turned it's head and locked eyes with her, clearly noticing she was out of breathe. And out of time. 

She felt an invisible hand grab onto her feet and begin to drag her down. Her eyes widened in fear and she screamed, though it was underwater so nobody heard. There was only bubbles. She screamed for help she knew wasn't there and immediately regretted ever jumping. Ever following that trail in the first place. 

Then it went black. 

She woke up by colliding with a hard surface face first. She pushed herself up onto all fours and started coughing up water before taking the most grateful breathes of her life. 

Looking around she saw the inside of a house. The walls of grey, wooden floors, and living room furniture set a friendly tone. She stood and took a few steps, looking around. In the corner there was a play pen of sorts with a small child playing. She couldn't see who it was. On the other side of the room was some Jedi speaking with who must be the parents. She walked closer to hear, but they never saw her. 

"There has been no indications that the plant will provide your child with any bad effects. Worst case scenario, it will do nothing to enhance their abilities." The Jedi had her arms crossed behind her back and had a kind, warm smile. It was almost eery. 

The two parents looked at each other and then nodded, with matching smiles on their face. 

The last Jolie saw of this strange scene was the child using the Force to lift one of the toys and wave to her. Again, eery. She felt some sort of connection to that child, and the two adults, but she couldn't decide what it was. 

Everything went black again and she felt the floor rotate 90 degrees. She fell this time on her back and landed on an empty chair in the Chambers of the Jedi High Council. 

She saw the back of a Jedi, about in his 40's, with greying brown hair. He wore a standard robe and was speaking with Master Yoda and Master Windu. 

"Have the results been progressing as we predicted?" Windu asked with a stern tone. 

The Jedi spoke and Jolie knew his voice right away. "Yes. The abilities possessed are even higher above average than expected." Dan Rursi. My Master?

"Any bad influences, does it have?" Yoda asked. 

The Jedi shook his head. "No." 

The two Masters smiled. "Keep reporting to us as you have been," Windu said. 

Dan nodded and then exited the room. 

The next thing she knew, Jolie was falling again. This time she landed in the sand of a training arena. She was practicing lightsaber dueling with Dan at only 9 years old. It made her smile when she saw it, briefly forgetting what was happening to her. She was never allowed to train with other students. 

She turned to see the same scene of the Council Chambers again. Although this time, Dan was visibly older. He spoke less enthusiastically about this strange experiment than he did before. "The power continues to grow as well as her connection to the Force. However, she's begun exhibiting some symptoms that correspond with this." 

"Keep sending us reports like this, you must," Yoda reminded him.

Jolie saw him nod. "Yes. Good day, Masters." 

This cycle repeated itself through the ages. Jolie was 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17, and finally 18. Each scene was like rewatching a vivid memory of her training with Dan. She saw herself leaning everything. From how to Force jump, to using a light-saber, to opening a holocron, and finally, leaving with the crew to come to this very planet on this strange mission. Answering the strange call of darkness. Dan watched the ship take off. Then he walked away; straight to the Council Chambers.

Jolie's view went black again until she was in the elevator with him. He frustratedly ran his hands through his grey hair, then stroked his growing, silver beard. You could practically see the conflict within him. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back, letting out a massive sign. After that, he had reached the Chambers. 

He exited and walked slowly, unconfidently, to the door. He entered. 

"I really believe we need to tell her the truth," he said with fire in his voice. Some anger was spilling into his judgement. Jolie could sense it. 

Tell who? 

"When the time comes, know she will." 

The truth about what? What do I have to do with any of this? 

After everything went black again, she was greeted by a small holo-projector in front of her. Everything around her was black. The floor, ceiling, and walls. She walked across the endless floor, water still dripping from her clothes, and got a better view. It was a document titled: Force Ability Augmentation by Force Trees. 

Force trees? 

The room began to light up, revealing her quarters from when she was a student at the Temple. 

She looked past the books, robes, and bland furniture until her eyes found some glowing from under her mat. Unrolling the mat, she saw a trap door. She'd never seen this. 

She quickly sensed another presence. A dark one. Please don't be you, she thought desperately to herself before turning around. It was "You." This dark figure that's been following her. 

The figure stretched out it's arm and pointed to the trap door, never flinching. 

Jolie turned her attention back to the door, trying her best to ignore the darkness. 

Carefully opening the door, the glowing shined brighter then it ever did along the path. It was so blinding she couldn't even make out the source of it. She had to close her eyes as she leaned in and stuck a hand down to feel for something tangible. 

Her hand grazed a smooth, forked surface. She reached her other hand it and grabbed onto something, pulling this object out of it's prison. When she fell back and was sitting cross legged, her eyes locked with the thing she held in her lap. The glowing stopped and a soft, light blue hue replaced it. 

What remained: a Force Tree.


	13. Fake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Funny how Evander is the first one to find Jolie... foreshadowing? More importantly Jolie is about to get answers

"She's over here!" Evander yelled across the snowy landscape to Flint and Alda. They were scattered around different points of the river looking for Jolie. 

One by one, they dropped to their knees in the cold snow beside Jolie. She was clearly unconscious, laying perfectly idle beside the frozen river. Yet, oddly enough, she was dry. 

"We need to get her back," Flint said, tapping her shoulder and getting no response. 

Alda picked her up like she did back at the Temple and the three of them booked it back to the ship. 

What just happened?   
What was all that?   
Was it all fake?  
Maybe that's why the figure has been saying the word "fake" over and over... But then why would this even be necessary? I need to wake up and make sense of this. 

"Jolie?" 

She woke up to see the three of them sitting in the small med bay. She was laying down on the cot, a machine monitoring her vitals. 

"What happened?" She asked, sounding completely normal. As if she hadn't just magically washed up beside a frozen river. 

They exchanged a worried look and Evander spoke first. "You jumped down a waterfall into frigid waters. Do you remember any of that?" 

"Yeah. But how did I end up on land?" Jolie asked, sitting up. 

"We don't know. Evander just found you laying there. Weird thing is, you were dry," Alda explained. 

"I need to go to my room. We should probably start heading back to Corascaunt." Jolie took the monitors off her arm, stood, and rushed inside her room down the hall. 

"Does she realize what just happened? She could have hypothermia!" Flint exclaimed, clearly shocked at her lackluster reaction. 

Evander, at a loss for words, got up and headed for the cockpit. "I've had enough crazy for today." 

Alda got up too and patted Flint's shoulder. "She seems medically fine to me. Someone should check on her later though."

Flint nodded in agreement stayed in the med bay for a while to think. 

Jolie's eyes closed and she held out the cubic object in front of her. She focused her mind in the inter workings of the crystalline relic. The knowledge and power it held. Hopefully it had answers too. 

The holocron began to float and she opened it with ease, to her relief.

She opened her eyes and saw the individual, metallic pieces separating, floating in perfect harmony in front of her very eyes. She stared in awe at the object, having never seen one in person before. 

Where are you Force tree?

She'd seen them hundreds of times at the Temple in the garden, but never thought to ask about them. 

She remembered what it looked and felt like in her strange vision sequence. Her mind began to sift through the information being held in the device until an image appeared. A Force Tree, like the one she saw, revealed itself in shades of holographic blue. Then below it; everything she could ever need to know about one. 

Force Trees are mystical trees made up of condensed energy from the Force. They are very rare and sacred.

The descriptions went on about healing properties, look, possible locations, etc. Then Jolie found what she came for. 

These trees are also believed to indefinitely augment an individual's Force sensitivity if exposed to one for long periods of time. 

She couldn't believe it. She wanted to find out that these trees meant nothing and only looked important, but if she was right, she'd been lied to her entire life. And it all traced back to a damned tree. 

The Holocron closed and Jolie's spirit dropped. Her gut was telling her things she didn't want to believe. Things she was afraid to believe. She sat down on her bed and stared out the window. A mild headache gradually made its way to her, but she was used to it. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. 

"Come in." I just want everyone to go away, she thought to herself. She'd never had doubts like these before. 

As she expected, Flint carefully walked in, as if he'd step on a creaky floorboard and wake a child. "Are you okay?" 

"Yes," she sighed and chuckled slightly,"Oh who am I kidding. I'm most definitely not." 

He walked to the edge of her bed and sat down, one leg hanging off and the other tucked under it. "What happened?" 

"You're not gonna believe me, and I don't even know if it actually happened, but it was like this sequence of visions." She went on to explain each scene in as much detail as she could remember. "It was like I was seeing my life from different perspectives. From when they brought me to the Temple to just a few days ago. It made everything make more sense, but all the more depressing," she looked down at her grey bed sheets,"Explains why I was isolated for so long as a kid." 

"Maybe whatever you saw wasn't the truth," Flint said, hope in his spirit,"It could have just been some strange illusion." He paused and hesitated before reaching forward and taking her hand gently,"And if it was real and it changes everything for you drastically, we're here for you. Alda, Evander, me. All of us." 

She looked up into his light green, kind eyes and smiled for a moment. "Thank you." 

Everything will be fine, she kept telling herself. You'll be okay. And that was straight from her gut, which was never wrong.

Alda and Evander both looked at Flint expectantly when he entered the cockpit. 

"So?" Evander asked impatiently. 

Flint sighed a little and sat down. "I can tell she has a headache, first of all," a serious tone set in the cockpit,"Something unbelievable happened to her." Flint recalled what Jolie had told him in complete detail. The three of them were all fascinated. It seemed like a fairytale they were told as younglings. 

"The Force at large definitely had a lot to do with this," Evander concluded. 

"As soon as she hit the water that "darkness" that Yoda was telling her to investigate just vanished. We all stopped feeling it," Alda added. 

"What I don't understand is what in the Galaxy a Force Tree has to do with this," Evander said. 

Flint reached into his jacket and pulled out his Holocron. As if it was second nature, he opened it and pulled up the information about Force Trees in a matter is seconds. 

"I believe a Force Tree has something to do with her power. I don't know why or how, but I really think that's part of it," Flint said. 

The other two thought about it for a moment before wrapping their heads around it. "Maybe that's why she has those pains whenever she used the Force a lot," Alda suggested. 

Evander modded and leaned forward in his chair, clearly excited to try and solve the puzzle. "Could The Force itself be angry that she's more powerful then she should be? Think about it, Yoda has never gotten pains like that and he's the Grand Master of The Order!" 

"Could be for sure. Although, there's more personal levels to this that we can't begin to understand," Flint pointed out, now staring at the hyperspace lanes whiz past,"We'll probably know more in a day or two. After we get home."

They had finally reached the Temple back on Corascaunt. Alda, Jolie, and Flint were eating a quick breakfast while Evander flew the ship, probably eating while he did so. 

"Flint, you have the official reports ready?" Alda asked between bites of her toast. 

Flint nodded,"They're completed and ready to go." 

Next Alda looked over to Jolie. "Do you wanna come with us when we report to the Council? Yoda did specifically want you on the mission." 

"Yeah, definitely," there was a stern, almost aggressive tone to her voice. "I just need to do a few things first." 

Alda and Flint exchanged a worried look. "Okay, we can all report to them later then," Alda said. 

"Alright gang, t-minus a few minutes before we hit the ground!" Evander called back from the cockpit. 

"That's our cue," Alda said as she got up and put her dishes away. Jolie and Flint did the same, but Jolie went off to her room after. The others didn't. 

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Alda quietly asked Flint. 

"Why are you assuming I know?" Flint shot back defensively. 

Alda put her hands in the air as if she was showing she had no guns in them,"Woah woah woah, calm down!" She laughed,"We've seen the way you look at her." She smirked and crossed her arms. 

Flint's pale skin flushed a deep red and his eyes darted around the room, avoiding her stare. "Don't be ridiculous. That's crazy."

She patted his shoulder and went on her way to the ramp,"Spoken like a terrible liar." 

Flint held back a tiny, humorous smile until she was out of sight. I should check on her though. She had that look in her eyes again, he thought to himself. 

As he began to knock on the door, Jolie swung it open. 

"Oh, uh- sorry," Flint stammered awkwardly. 

She chuckled,"Looking for me?" 

He laughed nervously,"Uhh yeah, you just seem a little bit... I don't know- off? Are you gonna be alright today?" He looked behind her and noticed a packed bag next to her bed. "Why do you have a packed bag?" 

She looked back at the bag and sighed. "I've been piecing together the weird vision sequence and I think something is up," she turned and walked back into her room. Flint followed and stood in front of her. "It's a long, complicated explanation, but my gut is telling me I can't trust the council anymore. Or the Jedi as a whole," she rubbed her arm and her gaze drifted to the floor. "I know it's crazy but-" 

"It's not crazy. I'd trust your gut more then anything. You've never been wrong." Flint smiled as reassuringly as he could, despite his awkward disposition. "You don't need to go talk to them if you don't want to." 

"No, I need to talk to them. But I need to talk to my Master first. I know I can trust him." Her voice was confident and sure. 

He smiled. Hearing her sound so strong gave him a sense of hope. But still, he couldn't help but pray she'd stay. If something happens. 

The ship shook for a minute as it left hyperspace and entered a system. "We must be here," Jolie remarked as she slipped past Flint and to the common area. Flint followed right behind. 

"Alright guys, remember not to leave anything out. This whole situation is bigger than us," Alda reminded them as they walked down the ramp. 

"Right," Evander said with a thumbs up. Flint nodded and Jolie was silent. The four of them then made their way down the ramp, their feet clanking against the metal until they reached the stone path to the Temple. 

This is so strange, Jolie thought to herself. I was just here not too long ago. But it already feels foreign to me. 

She walked through the regal halls and lush gardens of the Temple. Politely greeting the other Jedi walking by her. Being with the crew she felt like she wasn't dressed quite right, with her Jedi robes. But here, she knew she was dressed exactly right. Although, for the first time, something felt wrong. 

She finally reached her room. 123: Palawan Quarters. 

Taking a deep breath, she walked inside. After the vision sequence, the room seemed darker. More mysterious. 

She swiped her hand over her old table, the walls, even looked outside the window at the bustling, yet somehow orderly streets of Corascaunt. Chuckling to herself she thought, I'll never understand how people can fly without crashing. 

After coming back to her senses a bit, she felt ready to see if what she saw was true. 

As if in a dramatic, slow motion movie, she walked to her bed. Heart pounding, her pulse raising, and a nervous sweat across her forehead. 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. As she knelt down beside the bed, she opened them. Tucking the sheets under her mattress, she pushed it out of the way. Before she opened her eyes, she relished one final moment of not knowing the truth. A moment filled with hope that things will be normal. That things always had been normal. But deep down, she knew that in some aspect, things never were. 

Everything will be okay, she reminded herself. She looked to where the bed used to be and her eyes met a large trap door. 

Her heart sunk. 

A faint, blue glow seeped through the edges of the door as she pulled it open.

Leaning over the large gap in the wooden floor, she saw the tree was very small. 

With tears budding in her eyes, she reached in and pulled out a spacious flower pot, taking the tree with it. It was only a few feet tall, but it's power was unimaginable. 

As she closed her eyes and sat with the tree, accepting this reality she'd come to piece together, she sensed someone walk in behind her.

"Please let me explain, kiddo." 

The regretful voice came from her Master. 

Dan Rursi.


	14. We’ll all fly again soon.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. If u read this far thank you so much, I honestly appreciate it so so so much

"Please let me explain, kiddo." 

Jolie stood, cradling the pot in her arms. The tree still glowed in it's primitive, dark brown container, casting a faint blue light around the room. She turned towards him. "Please. Do that." Her voice was neutral, which made Dan even more uneasy. He had no idea what she was really feeling. 

He took a step forward, frowning, regret spread across his face. "It all started when you were found as a child. A normal amount of Force sensitivity, like all other younglings. However, the Council at the time wanted to conduct an experiment on the effect that Force trees have on people," he grimaced,"Your parents... they offered you up for this...opportunity," he spat the word out as if it were bitter,"So that Tree has been under your bed since you were brought here, with Healers tending to it from below." 

All that Jolie could sense was regret and pain from him. Just as she'd expected. 

"Why all the isolation then?" She asked,"When I was a youngling. I was never allowed to train with the others." The innocence in her eyes stared like daggers right into Dan's own regretful eyes,"I couldn't stay with the others in my group. I couldn't battle them for practice. Why?"

He sighed,"The Council didn't want any outside influences on the results." 

Jolie's anger grew. Her eyes filling with fire. "And you were just okay with this?" 

He didn't answer. Instead, he just looked at the ground. Tears formed in his eyes. 

"All these years I've felt so alone," droplets lined her eyes,"except for you." 

"I'm-" 

She kept walking forward, her anger grew with each step. "All these years you've watched me deal with the painful side effects that went along with this sick experiment, yet you did nothing." Her brows furrowed into a pained, vengeful expression. 

"The only excuse I have is The Council. They wouldn't allow me to do anything that would interrupt the progression. I wish I had defied them... I really do." His voice pleaded for understanding. 

Jolie ignored his pleas, only listening to the built up rage inside of her. "You know, I thought of you as a father. My father. The only person I truly had in my life," she looked deep into his eyes, making him feel the pain she'd felt at that moment,"The only one I could trust."

Dan stood still, his head hanging. Tears fell into his bushy, grey beard. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Jolie." 

"I need to go." She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and looked past him. Remaining as much composure as she could, Jolie left the place she'd been in her whole life, in hopes of finding a better one. 

Clouds fell over the city skies of Corascaunt and rain began to fall. All the pedestrians were retreating to their lavish homes. 

"Crummy weather," Evander observed. 

"Yeah, no kidding," Alda replied dryly with a chuckle. He elbowed her playfully and kept staring outside. 

"I'm not sure how much longer we can stall them waiting for her," Flint said. 

The trio were all waiting outside the High Council's Chambers to give the official report. 

"Would Jolie mind if we just went in and started?" Evander asked. 

"She seemed adamant about talking to them," Flint replied. 

"Plus the entire mission depended on her. Some spooky stuff happened and it had everything to do with Jolie," Alda pointed out,"They need to hear her." 

Suddenly, their wrist comms all began blinking. 

"Someone just got on the ship?"Alda said with confusion, staring at the blinking security light. 

Flint stood up,"I'll check it out. Stay here in case they need to, uh, talk to you two." 

Evander looked confused but was in no mood to get up,"Alright. Just keep us posted, I guess. And if anyone is stealing my stuff or messing with my ship, you have permission to teach them a lesson." He smirked and sarcastically punched his open palm. 

Flint chuckled,"Yeah, I have the strength of a twig. But sure, I'll do that." 

Jolie kept on walking with her tree out into the rain until she reached the ship, walking onto the ramp. The glow cast beautiful patterns through the drops of rain water on it's branches. 

She never stopped. Never looked back. Never second guessed it. It'll be okay, she kept reminding herself. 

My own parents. Biological and otherwise. They all lied to me my whole life. I've been a part of some grand experiment and I didn't even know. Dan sat idly by and saw me struggling, but never did anything real to help me.

I've been beside Dan since I was 3 years old. And it was all for nothing?

She so badly wanted to forgive him then. So badly wanted someone in her life to fall on. 

"Jolie?" 

It was the small, worried voice of Flint. 

Jolie took a deep breath, setting the tree down, and turned around. 

"What are you doing?" The fear in his eyes was evident to even a non-Force sensitive. 

"I'm leaving. I can't trust anyone here anymore." 

He took a wary step towards her, standing at the bottom of the ramp looking up at her with deep concern. "What happened?" 

She closed her eyes to collect her thoughts, then opened them. She took a deep breathe. "That Force Tree has been underneath my bed my entire life," she pointed to it on the ground beside her,"The Jedi have been studying what it does to the subject; me. That's why I'm so powerful," she winced slightly, reliving her conversation with Dan,"And why I get those pains whenever I do something huge," tears began to form in her eyes again as she lost what little control she had left,"I've just been some experiment my whole life. Nobody even told me! Nobody helped me!" She turned and walked to her room so she could get her bag, and get far away. 

Flint followed behind her. "Jolie..." He didn't know what to say. 

Holding her packed bag, she turned to Flint. "My Master was the only one I've even been close to. Now I have nobody." A few tears were about to fall. 

Flint rushed forward in a moment of instinct, wrapping her in bear-hug. "You're not alone. You have us." 

Jolie froze for a moment, but then dropped her bag and returned the hug, grateful for his compassion. 

"So what are you going to do?" Flint asked her. 

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Probably just hop on a shuttle to a quiet planet until I figure things out." 

Flint looked into her eyes, making a mental picture of the beautiful green hues. Summoning all the courage he could, he reached his hands out and held her free hand. "Can we at least fly you there?" 

"I should just go. I've got to get used to the real world if I'm gonna make something of my life." 

He frowned,"You're really not coming back?" 

"I don't know," she replied thoughtfully,"It doesn't seem probable. I mean, would you?" 

He shook his head,"I suppose not. Will you come visit at some point?" 

She smiled and chuckled a little,"Of course." Her expression morphed into a sad smile,"Can you just tell the others I say thank you?" 

He smiled sadly in return,"Of course. Good luck, Jolie." 

"She just disappeared as mysteriously as she arrived," Alda remarked, a touch of sadness in her voice, as the three sat in the living area of their ship. The meeting never happened due to the Council in some sort of frenzy that afternoon. 

They all had dinner in front of them. Evander was chowing down per usual, Alda was picking, and Flint was just moving pieces of food around with his fork. 

"Are you gonna be alright?" Evander asked Flint, looking over with concern and puzzlement. 

Flint looked up suddenly,"Yeah, I'm good." 

Alda cocked an eyebrow,"We're not that gullible,"she looked at Flint understandably,"We'll all miss her, but you two seemed to have this sort of connection. I know this must be hard. It hurts to lose someone." 

Evander stopped eating when Alda finished. Then he looked at Flint, genuine concern and understanding written on his face,"I know how it feels, and then some. It'll be hard, but you're a trooper." 

Flint smiled,"It's strange to hear stuff like that from you." 

Evander smiled a little,"Don't get used to it."

In lighter spirits, the three finished eating and then turned in for the night, but they remained on the ship, not in their quarters within the Temple. 

The next morning, they all got messages from the Council to meet in one of the larger classrooms. It could seat up to 100 people. 

"Why do they want us there?" Alda asked in puzzlement as they were getting ready. 

Evander shrugged,"They're the Council and they're weird. That's all I know." 

Alda laughed,"Well, you've got that right." 

They all wore their usual, worn out explorer attire and went on their way. 

Upon their arrival, they saw at least another 80 Jedi there too. Some were here by Hologram. Most were standing, talking in small groups. 

"Looks like there's other Explorers here," Alda pointed out as she looked at a few familiar groups wearing more rugged clothing. Jackets, durable boots, loose fitting pants with pockets. 

"And people from Medic Corps," Evander added, pointing out the Jedi in monotone clothing and Medical Corps logos,"And the Teaching Corps..."

"And Agriculture," Flint finished. 

They all exchanged the same worried look of confusion just as Master Yoda arrived at the front of the spacious room, standing on a slightly raised stage alongside Master Windu. 

"Welcome, Members of Service Corps," Yoda began with a smile,"Good it is to see you all." 

"We have gathered you all here today in order to announce some changes in respect to all of your rankings," Windu continued, firm and professional as always. 

Confused murmurs circulated around the room. They all feared the same thing; the failures are all finally getting thrown out. 

"A bad thing, this is not. Great work you all do. However, ending the Jedi Service Corps, we are." 

"They're joking, right?" Evander angrily whispered to Flint and Alda. 

The three all looked at each other in pure confusion and genuine worry accented with a touch of anger. 

"Worrying won't be necessary. You'll be dissolved into the ranking of Jedi Knight. We truly believe that your various talents and experiences will provide us with a more diverse group of Knights," Windu explained. "The Order as a whole simply can not maintain the Service Corps any longer."

The murmurs slowed but the confusion didn't. 

"Given various Knight tasks tailored to your unique abilities, you all will be," Yoda continued. He smiled pridefully and then gestured to the crowd happily with his short cane,"Welcome, Jedi Knights." 

The walk back was lively as each one of the trio tried to decipher what was going to happen. 

"So are we just Knights now?" Flint asked. 

Evander shrugged,"I guess. I still can't wrap my head around it, though." 

"We failed our trials fair and square. We aren't real Knights!" Alda exclaimed. 

"Well would you rather they just kick about a hundred of us out into the street with no real life skills?" Evander refuted. 

"No, but it just seems wrong. Doesn't it?" 

They reached their ship after the long, confusing walk back. They were met with a message from the High Council. 

"Last time we read a message from the Council we ended up with a wizard girl on the crew," Evander said dryly as they huddled around the holo-table, not bothering to sit down. 

"It's probably just a follow up," Alda said, ignoring Evander's snarky comment. She logged on and then opened the message. 

To Explore Corps. Crew 7:

The three of you will be reassigned as Jedi Knights. Your tasks will vary and you will each be individually contacted about them shortly. In the mean time, this vessel will be in possession of The Republic and you will each receive permanent quarters. 

Alda Pax: Room 324, East Wing.   
Evander Aine: Room 122, Western Wing,  
Flint Ugo: Room 112, Northern Wing. 

They all stared blankly at the screen. 

Finally, Evander broke the silence,"Well this sucks." 

"No kidding," Alda replied. 

"This is all happening so fast," Flint said sadly,"The end of an era."

"It's not like we won't see each other anymore," Alda said with a reassuring smile,"We do have Comm-links after all." 

"And if Yoda's being legit, we'll be doing tasks related to Exploring. So there's a chance we'll team up soon," Evander added. 

Flint sighed,"I hope so." 

Alda was standing between them and nudged the two with her elbows,"I know so."

The time had come to pack their things. Evander made sure he got all his trinkets from the cockpit, as well as his various snack stashes. 

Alda packed her things from her room, keeping the survival equipment with her. Never know when you'll need it. 

Flint grabbed his Holocron and his data pad with years worth of hard work on it. He kept his room very neat so it didn't take long to pack his things. 

The three shut down the ship, taking out their key-card to give to a Republic Officer. 

As they were walking together down the ramp, about to start their lives as Jedi Knights; Evander sensed something. He rarely did. 

"I'll be right back," he said hesitantly as he walked back to the hallway, still carrying his bulging backpack. 

The Force rarely spoke to him at all, let alone as clearly as it was now. He had to take a moment to remember his training and how to actually listen to it. Suddenly it became as clear as his kyber-crystal. He was being drawn to Jolie's old room. 

When he walked in it was stripped clean, like she'd never been here in the first place. Except for one thing. A Holocron. 

She had a Holocron? Evander asked himself with wonderment. He had no idea how she got it. He couldn't imagine her doing anything remotely wrong, especially stealing. 

He looked around and didn't see anyone, so he quickly opened his backpack and took a few shirts out. He was very careful and wrapped the shirts around the Holocron, then cautiously fit it back into his backpack. Maybe he'd use it one day. 

With that, he quickly walked out of her room and back into the hall, but he paused before taking a right turn towards the cockpit. 

Evander sat in the pilot's seat, his seat, again and somberly patted the control panel, with hopeful certainty in his voice. 

"We'll fly again soon."


End file.
